CIHM 

Microfiche 
Series 

(Monographs) 


iCMH 

Collection  de 

microfiches 

(monographies) 


Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microraproductiona  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  hittoriquas 


1998 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
nfiay  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  fuming  are 
chected  below. 


0 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 


□ Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommagte 

□ Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pellicula 

I     I  Cover  title  missing  /  Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

I    I  Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

r~~]  Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
I— J  Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□ Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

□ Bound  with  other  material  / 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  edition  available  / 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion  along 
interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serree  peut  causer  de 
I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de  la  marge 
int^rieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have  been 
omitted  from  filming  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages 
blanches  ajout6es  lors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  iorsque  cela  6tait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  6t6  f  ilm^es. 

Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires: 


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L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6\6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-6tre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  m^tho- 
de  rrarmale  de  filmage  sont  indlquds  ci-dessous. 

I    I  Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

I    1  Pages  damaged/ Pages  endommagtes 


□ 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaurtes  et/ou  pellicul^s 


Q Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  d^lor^.  tachet^  ou  piques 

I       Pages  detached  /  Pages  d^tach^es 

I  \/[  Showthrough  /  Transparence 

□ Quality  of  print  varies  / 
Quality  in^gale  de  I'impression 


□ 
□ 


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Includes  supplementary  material  / 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplem-n  i' 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscur  i  (■•-r..ta  slips, 
tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  t^  2  ir:j'e  \ha  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  tOi  -o  rient  ou 
partiellement  obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une 
pelure,  etc.,  ont  ete  filmees  a  nouveau  de  fa^on  a 
obtenir  la  meiileure  image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
filmees  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meiileure  image 
possible. 


□ 


This  Hmk  i>  filmed  at  the  rtduction  ratio  chtcked  below  / 

Ce  document  est  IWtnt  au  laux  de  reduction  indique  ci-dessous. 


-  _ 

12x 


16x 


20x 


24x 


28x 


32x 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  b««n  r«produc«d  thanks 

to  the  generosity  of: 

University  of  Alberta 
Edmonton 

Tha  images  appearing  hara  ara  tha  best  quality 
possible  considering  tha  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  tha 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  whan  appropriate.  Ail 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  tha 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  pag*  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Tha  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  —h^( meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  appliaa. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  ona  expoaura  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  Tha  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  filmi  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
gAnirosit*  da: 

University  of  Alberts 

Edmonton 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  M  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetA  de  I'exemplaire  film^.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  film^s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniira  page  qui  comporta  una  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustratiun.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film^s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporta  una  empreinte 
d'impresaion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniAre  imege  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — signifia  "A  SUiVRE".  la 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvant  ttra 
filmis  i  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsqua  la  document  est  trop  grand  pour  itre 
raproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmd  i  partir 
de  Tangle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagram:nes  suivants 
illustrant  la  mAthoda. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

A  HALF  CENTURY  AMONG  THE 
SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


A  HALF  CENTURY  AMONG 
THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
By 

DANIEL  McGILVARY,  U.D. 

WITH  AM  APPBBCtATION  BT 

ARTHUB  J.  BROWN,  D.D. 
ILLOBTBATBD 


NkwYoie  CmcAOo  Tobomto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

LOMOOK  AMD  EoiMivmaH 


CopyriKlit.  1012,  by 


FLEMING  II.  KliVliLL  COMrANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Sqtwre 
Edinburgh:  100  Priacei  Street 


6 


TO 

MY  WIFE 


AN  APPRECIATION 


ISSIONARY  biography  is  one  of  the  most  in- 


teresting and  instructive  of  studies.    It  is, 


^  however,  a  department  of  missionary  litera- 
ture to  which  Americans  have  not  made  proportionate 
contribution.  The  foreign  missionary  Societies  of  the 
United  States  now  represent  more  missionaries  and  a 
larger  expenditure  than  the  European  Societies,  but 
most  of  the  great  missionary  biographies  are  of  British 
and  Continental  missionaries,  so  that  many  Americans 
do  not  realize  that  there  are  men  connected  with  their 
own  Societies  whose  lives  have  been  characterized  by 
eminent  devotion  and  large  achievement. 

Because  I  regarded  Dr.  McGilvary  as  one  of  tlie  great 
missionaries  of  the  Church  Universal,  I  urged  him  sev- 
eral years  ago  to  write  his  autobiography.  He  was 
then  over  seventy-five  years  of  age,  and  1  told  him  that 
he  could  not  spend  his  remaining  strength  to  any  bet- 
ter Mvantage  to  the  cause  he  loved  than  in  preparing 
such  a  volume.  His  life  was  not  only  one  of  unusual 
length  (he  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of  eighty  three),  but  his 
missionary  service  of  fifty-three  years  covered  an  inter- 
esting part  of  the  history  of  missionary  work  in  Siam, 
and  the  entire  history,  t!  us  far,  of  the  uiissiim  to  the 
Lao  people  of  northern  Siam.  There  is  no  more 
fascinating  story  in  fiction  or  in  that  truth  which  is 
stranger  than  fiction,  than  the  story  of  his  discovery  of 
a  village  of  strange  speech  near  his  station  at  Pecba- 
buri,  Siam,  his  learning  the  language  of  the  villagers, 
his  long  journey  with  his  friend,  Dr.  Jonathan  Wilson, 


1 


2  AN  AIM'KECIATiON 

into  what  was  tlicn  tlio  unknown  region  of  nortliern 
Kiam,  pushing  his  little  lumt  up  the  great  river  and 
pausing  not  until  he  had  gone  six  hundred  milea  north- 
ward and  arrived  at  the  eilv  of  Chiengniai.  The  years 
that  followed  were  years  of  toil  and  i)rivation,  of  lone- 
liness and  Sometimes  of  danger;  bin  the  missionaries 
persevered  with  splendid  faith  and  courage  until  the 
i'ouudations  of  a  [)rosporous  Mission  were  laid. 

In  all  the  marked  development  of  the  Luo  Mission, 
Dr.  McGilvary  was  a  leader— the  leader.  He  laid  the 
founiIali(.ns  of  medical  work,  introdiuing  quinine  and 
vatcinaliou  among  a  people  scourged  l)y  malaria  and 
smallpox,  a  work  which  has  now  developed  into  five 
hospitals  and  a  leper  asylum.  He  began  educational 
work,  which  is  now  represented  by  eight  boarding 
schools  and  twenty-two  elementary  schools,  and  is 
fast  expanding  into  a  college,  a  medical  college,  and  a 
theological  seminary.  lie  was  the  erangelist  who  won 
the  first  converts,  founded  the  first  church,  and  had  a 
prominent  part  in  founding  twenty  other  churches, 
and  in  developing  a  Lao  Christian  Church  of  four 
thousand  two  hundred  and  five  adult  communicants. 
His  colleague,  Ihe  Kev.  Dr.  W.  V.  VUnhl  says  (hat  Dr. 
McGilvary  selected  the  sites  for  all  the  present  stations 
of  the  :Mission  Imig  before  committees  formally  sanc- 
tioned the  wisdom  «)f  his  choice.  Fie  led  the  way  into 
regions  beyond  and  was  the  pioneer  explorer  into  the 
French  Lslo  States,  eastern  Burma,  and  even  up  to 
the  borders  of  t^iinii.  tlo  where  you  will  in  northern 
Siam,  or  in  many  sections  of  the  extra  Siamese  Lao 
States,  you  will  find  men  and  women  to  whom  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary first  brought  the  Good  News.  He  well  de- 
serves the  name  so  fre<inently  given  him  even  in  bis  life- 
time- -"  The  Apo.stle  to  the  Lao." 


AN  APPRECIATION 


3 


It  was  my  i)rivilc'p;e  to  conduct  our  Board's  corre- 
spondence with  Dr.  McCiilvary  for  more  than  a  decade, 
and,  in  1U02,  to  visit  bim  in  his  home  and  to  journey 
with  him  throngh  an  extensive  region.  I  iiave  abiding 
and  tender  memories  of  those  memortilile  days.  lie 
was  a  Christian  gentleman  of  the  highest  type,  a  man 
of  cultivation  and  refinement,  of  ability  and  scholar- 
ship, of  broad  vision  and  constmctive  leadership.  His 
evangelistic  zeal  knew  no  bounds.  A  toilsome  journey 
on  elephants  througii  the  jungles  brought  me  to  a 
Saturday  night  with  the  weary  ejaculation :  "  Now  we 
can  have  a  day  of  rest  I "  The  next  morning  I  slept 
late;  but  Dr.  McGilvary  did  not;  he  si)ent  an  hour  be- 
fore breakfast  in  a  neighbouring  village,  distributing 
tracts  and  inviting  the  people  to  come  to  a  service  at 
cur  camp  at  ten  o'clock.  It  w  as  an  impressive  service, 
— under  a  spreading  bo  tree,  with  the  mighty  forest 
about  us,  monkeys  curiously  peering  through  the 
tangled  vines,  the  huge  elephants  browsing  the  bamboo 
tips  Iteiiind  us,  and  the  wondering  people  sitting  on 
the  ground,  while  one  of  the  missionaries  told  the 
deathless  story  of  redeeming  love.  But  Dr.  McGilvary 
was  not  [)rcsent.  Seventy-four  years  old  though  he 
was,  he  had  walked  three  miles  under  a  scorching  sun 
to  another  village  and  was  preaching  there,  while  Dr. 
Dodd  conducted  the  service  at  onr  camp.  And  I  said: 
"  If  that  is  the  way  Dr.  McGilvary  rests,  what  does  he 
do  when  he  works?"  Dr.  McKean,  his  associate  of 
many  j'ears,  writes : 

"  No  one  who  has  done  country  evangelistic  work 
with  Dr.  McGilvary  can  ever  forget  the  oft-seen  picture 
of  the  gray-haired  patriarch  seated  on  the  bamboo  floor 
of  a  thatch-covered  LAo  bouse,  teaching  some  one  to 
read.  Of  course,  the  book  faced  the  pupil,  and  it  was 


4  AN  APPRECIATION 

often  sflid  that  he  had  taught  so  many  people  in  this 
way  that  he  could  read  the  Lao  character  vorv  readily 
with  the  book  upside  down.   Little   children  in- 
stinctively loved  him,  and  it  is  therefore  needless  to 
say  that  ho  loved  thorn.    In  spite  of  his  loii^'  snow- 
white  beard,  never  seen  in  men  of  this  laud  and  a 
strange  sight  to  any  LSo  child,  the  children  readily 
came  to  him.   Parents  have  boon  led  to  God  because 
Dr.  McGilvary  loved  thoir  ohildron  and  laid  his  hands 
upon  them.    In  no  other  capacity  was  the  spirit  of  the 
man  more  manifest  than  in  that  of  a  shepherd.  Al- 
ways on  the  alert  for  ovri-y  opj»ortunity.  coimting 
neither  time  nor  distance  nor  the  hardshij.  of  iucleniont 
weather,  swollen  streams,  pathless  jungle,  or  impass- 
able road,  ho  followed  the  example  of  his  Master  in 
seeking  to  save  the  lost.    His  very  last  journey,  which 
probably  was  the  immediate  cause  of  his  last  illness, 
was  a  long,  w  arisome  ride  on  horseback,  through 
nmddy  fields  and  deep  irrigating  ditches,  to  visit  a 
man  whom  he  had  befriended  many  years  ago  and  who 
seemed  to  be  an  inquirer." 

r>r.  Mc(Jilvary  was  pre-eminently  a  man  who  walked 
with  (Jod.  Uis  piety  was  not  a  mere  profession,  but  a 
pervasive  and  abiding  force.  He  knew  no  greater  joy 
than  to  declare  the  Gospel  of  his  blessed  Lord  to  the 
people  to  wiiose  up-lifting  he  had  devoto.l  his  life. 
"  If  to  be  great  is  *  to  take  the  common  things  of  life 
and  walk  truly  among  them,'  he  was  a  great  man- 
great  in  soul,  great  in  simplicity,  great  in  faith  and 
groat  in  love.  Siani  is  tlio  richer  l)ocanso  Daniel  Mc- 
Gilvary gave  her  tifty-three  years  of  unselfish  service." 
Mrs.  Curtis,  the  gifted  author  of  The  L<inn  of  \orth 
8iaiii,  says  <.f  Dr.  McGilvary:  "  Neither  Carey  nor  Jud- 
son  surpassed  him  in  strength  of  faith  and  zeal  of  par- 


AN  APPRECIATION  6 

pose;  neither  Paton  nor  Chalmers  lias  outranked  him 
in  the  wonders  of  their  achievements,  and  not  one  of 
the  other  hondreds  of  missionaries  ever  has  had  more 
evidence  of  God's  blessing  upon  their  woik  " 

Not  only  the  missionaries  but  the  Lao  p<  .pic  loved 
him  as  a  friend  and  veuerati? i  him  as  a  lather.  Some 
of  his  intimate  friends  were  the  abbots  and  monks  of 
the  Buddhist  iiKiiiastcrics  and  the  high  oflBcials  of  the 
country.  No  oue  could  know  him  without  recognizing 
the  nobility  of  sonl  of  this  saintly  patriarch,  in  whom 
was  no  guile.  Decenil .  r  «t» ,  1910,  many  Americans 
and  Europeans  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anriversary  uf  his 
marriage.  The  King  of  Siam  through  Prince  Dam- 
rong,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  sent  a  congratulatory 
message.  Letters,  telegrams,  and  gifts  poured  in  from 
many  dilJerent  places.  The  Christian  poople  of  the 
city  presented  a  large  silver  tray,  on  which  was  en- 
graved :  "  Thr  Christian  people  of  Chiengmai  to  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  McCilvary,  in  memory  of  your  having  brought 
the  Cosjjel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  us  forty-three  years  ago." 
The  tray  showed  in  relief  the  old  rest-house  where  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  McCilvary  spent  their  first  two  years  in 
Chienjiiiiai,  the  residence  winch  was  later  their  home 
of  many  years,  the  old  dilapidated  bridge,  and  the  hand- 
some new  bridge  which  spans  the  rive-  opposite  the 
Christian  (Jirls'  School— thus  symbolizing  the  old  and 
the  new  eras. 

The  recent  tours  of  exploration  by  the  Rev.  W.  Clif- 
ton Dodd,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  John  H.  Freeman  have 
disclosed  the  fact  that  the  Lao  ix'oi)ley  are  far  more 
numerous  and  more  widely  distributed  than  we  had 
formerly  supposed.  Their  numbers  are  now  estimated 
at  from  twelve  to  sixteen  millions,  'ind  their  habitat 
includes  net  only  the  Lao  States  of  northern  Siam  but 


6 


AN  APPRECIATION 


extensive  regions  north  and  northeastward  in  t!it  Shan 
States,  Southern  China,  and  French  Indo-China.  Tht 
evangelization  of  tliese  peoples  is,  therefore,  an  even 
larger  and  more  important  undertaking  than  it  was 
understood  to  be  only  a  few  years  ago.  All  the  more 
honour,  therefore,  must  be  assigned  to  Dr.  McOilvary, 
who  laid  foundations  upon  which  a  great  superstruc- 
ture must  now  l)e  built. 

Dr.  McGilvary  died  as  he  would  have  wished  to  die 
and  as  any  Christian  worker  might  wish  to  die.  There 
was  no  long  illiwss.  He  continued  his  great  evangel- 
istic and  literary  labours  almost  to  the  end.  Only  a 
short  time  before  his  death,  he  made  another  of  his 
famoos  itinerating  journeys,  preaching  the  Gospel  to 
the  outlying  villages,  guiding  perplexed  i)eople  and 
comforting  the  sick  and  dying.  He  recked  as  little  of 
personal  hardship  as  he  had  all  his  life,  thinking 
nothing  of  hard  travelling,  simple  fare,  and  exposure 
to  sun,  mud,  and  rain.  Not  long  after  his  return  and 
after  a  few  brief  days  of  illness,  he  quietly  "fell  on 
sleep,"  his  death  the  simple  but  majestic  and  dignified 
ending  of  a  great  earthly  career. 

The  Lao  country  had  never  seen  such  a  funeral  as 
that  which  marked  the  close  of  this  memorable  life. 
Princes,  Governors,  and  High  Commissioners  of  Btate 
sorrowed  with  multitudes  of  common  people.  The 
business  of  Chiengmai  was  suspended,  oiBces  were 
closed,  and  flags  hung  at  half-mast  as  the  silent  form 
of  the  great  missionary  was  borne  to  its  last  resting- 
place  in  the  land  in  which  he  was  the  first  bringer 
of  enlightenment,  and  whose  history  can  never  be  truly 
written  without  large  recognition  of  his  achievements. 

Portimatoly,  Dr.  McGilvary  had  completed  this  auto- 
biography before  his  natural  powers  had  abated,  and 


AN  APPRECIATION 


7 


had  sent  the  manuscript  to  his  brother-in  law,  Pro- 
fessor Cornelius  B.  Bradley  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia. Dr.  Bra.  ley,  himself  a  son  of  a  great  mission- 
ary to  Siam,  has  done  bis  editorial  work  with  sympa- 
thetic insight.  It  has  been  a  labour  of  love  to  him  to 
put  these  pages  through  the  press,  and  every  friend  of 
the  Lao  people  and  of  Dr.  McQilvary  is  his  debtor. 
The  book  itself  is  characterized  by  breadth  of  sym- 
pathy, richness  of  experience,  clearness  of  statement, 
and  high  literary  charm.  No  one  can  read  these  pages 
without  realizing  anew  that  Dr.  McOilvary  was  a  man 
of  fine  mind,  close  observation,  and  descriptive  gifts. 
The  book  is  full  of  human  interest.  It  is  the  story  of 
a  man  who  tells  about  the  things  that  he  heard  and 
saw  and  who  tells  his  story  well.  I  count  it  a  priv- 
ilege to  have  this  opportunity  of  commending  this  vol- 
ume as  one  of  the  books  which  no  student  of  southern 
Asia  and  of  the  missionary  enterprise  can  afford  to 
OTerlook. 

Abtucb  J.  Bbown. 

166  FnrTB  Atshcb,  New  Yobk. 


PREFACE 


YEAKS  ago,  in  tlio  absence  of  any  adequate  work 
upon  the  subject,  tlie  ollicers  of  our  Missionary 
Board  and  other  friends  arged  me  to  write  a 
book  on  tlio  Lfio  Mission.  Tlien  tbcie  appeared  Mrs. 
L.  VV.  Curtis'  interesting  volume,  The  Imoh  of  Sorth 
Siam,  much  to  be  commended  for  its  accuracy  and  its 
valual.le  information,  especially  in  view  of  the  anthor's 
short  stay  in  the  field.  But  no  snch  work  exhausts  its 
subject. 

I  have  always  loved  to  trace  the  providential  circum- 
stances which  led  to  the  founding  of  the  Lao  Mission 
and  directed  its  earlv  history.  And  It  seems  important 
that  before  it  be  too  l»te,  that  early  history  should  be 
put  into  permanent  form.  I  have,  therefore,  en- 
deavoured to  give,  with  some  fulness  of  detail,  the 
story  of  the  origin  and  inception  of  the  Mission,  and 
of  its  early  struggles  which  culminated  in  the  Edict 
of  Religious  Toleration.  And  in  the  later  portions  of 
the  narrative  I  have  naturally  given  prominence  to 
those  things  which  seemed  to  continue  the  character- 
istic features  and  the  personal  interest  of  that  earlier 
period  of  outreach  and  adventure,  and  especially  my 
long  tours  into  the  "  regions  beyond." 

The  appearance  during  the  past  year  of  Rev.  J.  H, 
Freeman's  An  Oriental  Lemd  of  the  Free,  giving  very 
full  and  accurate  information  regarding  the  present 
status  of  the  Mission,  has  relieved  me  of  the  necessity  of 
going  over  the  same  ground  again.   I  have,  therefore, 

9 


10  PREFACE 

been  oontenf  fo  draw  my  niirrnlive  to  a  close  with  the 
account  of  uiy  last  long  tour  in  18U8. 

The  work  wag  nndertaken  with  many  uiiHgivings, 
since  my  early  training  and  the  nature  of  my  life- 
work  liiivc  not  been  the  l)est  preparation  for  autliorsliip. 
I  ilierished  the  secret  hope  that  one  of  my  own  chil- 
dren would  give  the  book  its  final  revision  for  the 
press.  But  at  last  an  appeal  was  made  to  my  brother- 
in-law,  Professor  Cornelius  H.  Hriidley  of  the  Tni- 
versity  of  California,  whose  birth  and  years  of  service 
in  Siam,  whose  broad  scholarship,  fine  literary  taste, 
and  hearty  sympathy  with  our  missionary  efforts  in- 
dicated him  as  the  man  above  all  others  best  qualified 
for  this  task.  His  generous  acceptance  of  this  work, 
and  the  infinite  pains  he  has  taken  in  the  revision  and 
editing  of  this  book,  place  me  under  lasting  obligations 
to  him. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Dr.  W.  A. 

Briggs  and  to  Rev.  J.  H.  Freeman  for  the  use  of  maps 
prepared  by  them,  and  to  Dr.  Briggs  and  others  for  the 
use  of  photographs. 

Daniel  McQiLVAsr. 

April  6,  1911. 
Chunomai. 


NOTE  BY  THE  EDITOR 


IlE  task  which  has  fallen  to  mc  in  connection 


with  this  book,  was  undertaken  as  a  labour  of 


love ;  and  such  it  seenus  to  me  even  more,  now 
that  it  ends  in  sadness  of  farewell.  It  lias  not  been 
an  easy  task.  The  vast  spaces  to  be  traversed,  and 
the  months  of  time  required  before  a  qiMstion  conld 
receive  its  answer,  made  consultation  with  the  author 
almost  impossible.  And  the  ever-present  fear  that  for 
him  the  night  mipht  come  before  the  work  could  receive 
a  last  revision  at  his  hands,  or  evm  while  he  was 
still  in  the  midst  of  his  story,  led  nie  continually  to 
urge  upon  him  the  need  of  persevering  in  his  writing — 
which  was  evidently  becoming  an  irksome  task — and 
on  my  part  to  hasten  on  a  piecemeal  revision  as  the 
chapters  came  to  baud,  though  as  yet  I  had  no  at/Mm- 
ure  of  the  whole  to  guide  me. 

It  iH,  tlwrefore,  a  great  comfort  tu  Icnow  that  my 
urgency  and  haste  were  not  in  vain ;  that  all  of  the 
revision  reached  him  in  time  to  receive  his  criticism  and 
correction — though  his  letter  on  the  concluding  chap- 
ter was,  as  I  understand,  the  very  last  piece  of  writing 
that  he  ever  did.  How  serene  and  bright  it  was,  and 
with  no  trace  of  the  shadow  so  soon  to  fall ! 

But  the  draft  so  made  had  far  outgrown  the  possible 
limits  of  publication,  and  was,  of  course,  without  due 
measure  and  proportion  of  parts.  In  the  delicate  task 
of  its  reduction  I  am  much  indebted  to  the  kind  sug- 
gestions of  the  Rev.  Arthur  J.  Brown,  D.D.,  and  the 


11 


*3  NOTE  BY  THE  EDITOR 

Her.  A.  W.  Tlaliie^r,  D.I).,  HeeretarieR  of  tlw  Hoard  of 
Fort'ifjn  Missions  of  ilu.  I'leHbyterlan  Church,  and  of 
the  I{<.v.  W.  C.  l>(Mi(l,  n.l)..  „r  the  Lilo  Mission,  who, 
fortunutt'l.v,  wtm  iu  this  countr^v,  and  who  read  the 
manuscript.  For  what  app<>en  in  thia  book,  how- 
ever, I  .ihirie  iimst  ussiiiiit'  (he  regponsibility.  "An 
autobiography  ih  a  peiwoual  book,  expressive  of  per- 
aonal  opinion."  And  whelher  we  agree  with  them  or 
not,  the  opiuioDH  of  a  man  like  Dr.  McOllTary,  formed 
during'  a  loii^  lif»')iiiie  of  i  lnsc^t  rontiict  with  the  mat- 
ters whereof  he  speaks,  are  an  essential  part  not  only 
of  the  history  of  thoae  matteni,  but  of  the  portrait  of 
tlie  man,  and  far  more  interestin}?  than  any  mere  de- 
tails of  events  or  seenes.  <»ii  ill  I  jjr-iive  <iii('stioiis,  there- 
fore, on  which  he  has  expressed  his  deliberate  opinion, 
I  have  preferred  to  err  on  the  aide  of  inclusion  rather 
than  exclusion. 


The  plan  adopted  iu  this  volume  for  spelling  Siamese 
and  LOo  words  is  intended  to  niak.-»  pofisible,  and  even 

cMsy,  a  r<-;il  ap|iroxiiiiiition  to  the  native  jtrouruciation. 
Only  the  toual  intlections  of  native  speeth  ami  tlie 
Tarleties  of  aspiration  are  ignored,  as  wholly  foreign  to 
our  usage  and,  therefore,  unmanageable. 

The  cimsonant  letters  used  ami  tlie  digraphs  ch  and 
ng  have  their  comm(jn  Kuglish  values. 

The  vowels  are  as  follows: 
Long  a  as  in  father 

e  a*  in  I  hey 

Tas  in  pique 

o  as  in  rude 

n  as  in  rmlr.  rood 

aw  as  in  laicn 

*  as  in  there  (without  ther) 


NOTE  BY  THE  EDITOR  18 


ft  as  in  iritrlil  (  witlidiit  tiio  r) 

A  is  the  hif/h  nii.nd  V(iW(>l,  not  found  ill  Ellglitb. 
It  niu^-  be  { rttnouncctl  m  u. 
Short  a  M  in  about  (German  Jfoiwi)— not  aa  In  hat. 

e  as  in  m  t 
i  an  iu  v/t 

o  an  in  ubry  (\.  Eng.  coat)— not  as  in  cot. 
u  an  in  pull,  foot — not  as  in  hut. 

The  last  fmir  juii;,'  vowels  liavc  also  Ihcir  con'ospond 
ing  HliorlH,  hut  sinie  tliese  rarely  occur,  it  has  not  lieen 
thonjtht  wortli  while  to  harden  tlie  Rcheme  witli  extra 
ciiaractcrs  to  lepresent  them. 

Tiie  (liplillionps  arc  coniltinationN  of  one  of  these 
Towels,  heavily  stri'sst^d,  and  nearly  always  long  in 
quantity— which  make*  it  Mem  to  ns  exaggerated  or 
drawled— with  a  "  vanish  "  of  short  i,  o,  (for  «),  or  o. 
a»  (=Knglish  long  i,  y)  and  ao  (=Engli8h  ow)  are 
the  only  diphthongs  with  short  initial  element,  and  are 
to  be  diHtinguished  from  di  and  do.  In  deference  to 
long  established  nsajje  in  maps  and  tl:?  like  /V  is  used 
in  this  volume  where  ia  would  be  the  cons-  stent  spell- 
ing, and  oi  for  awi. 

A  word  remains  to  1k'  said  concerning  the  name  of 
the  people  among  whom  Dr.  McGilvary  spent  hi.s  life. 
That  name  has  suffered  uncommonly  hard  usage,  espe- 
cially at  the  hands  of  Americans,  as  the  following  brief 
history  vill  show.  Its  original  form  in  European 
writing  .vas  Lao,  a  fairly  accurate  transcription  by 
early  French  travellers  of  the  name  by  which  the 
Siamese  call  their  cousins  to  the  north  and  east.  The 
word  is  a  monosyllable  ending  in  a  diphthong  similar 
to  that  heard  in  ihe  proper  names  Macdo,  Mindanao, 
Calldo.  In  French  writing  the  name  often  appeared 


14 


NOTE  BY  THE  EDITOR 


in  the  plural  form,  hs  Laos;  the  added  s,  however,  be- 
ing silent,  made  no  diflference  with  the  pronunciation. 
This  written  plural,  then,  it  would  seem,  English- 
speaking  people  took  over  without  recognizing  the  fact 
that  it  was  only  plural,  and  made  it  their  standard 
form  for  all  uses,  singular  as  well  as  plural.  With 
characteristic  ignorance  or  disregard  of  its  proper  pro- 
nunciation, on  the  mere  basis  of  its  spelling,  they  have 
imposed  on  it  a  barbarous  pronunciation  of  their  own — 
Lay-Ota.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  usage  of  Amer- 
ican missionaries  has  been  most  effective  in  giving  cur- 
rency and  countenance  to  this  blundt  •  — has  even  added 
to  it  the  further  blunder  of  using  it  as  the  name  of  the 
r^on  or  territory,  as  well  as  of  the  people.  But  the 
word  is  purely  ethnical— a  proper  adjective  likn  our 
words  French  or  English,  and,  like  these,  capaole  of 
substantive  use  in  naming  either  the  people  or  their 
language,  but  not  their  land.  Needless  to  say,  these 
errors  have  no  currency  whatever  among  European 
peoples  excepting  the  English,  and  they  have  very  little 
currency  in  England.  It  seems  high  time  for  us  of 
America  to  amend  not  only  our  false  pronunciation, 
but  our  false  usage,  and  the  false  spelling  upon  which 
these  rest.  In  accordance  with  the  scheme  of  spelling 
adopted  in  this  work,  the  a  of  the  name  LSo  is  marked 
with  the  macron  to  indicate  its  long  quantity  and 
stress. 

COBNELIUS  BgI^CH  BbaOLBT. 

BnuoniBT,  CALooairiA, 

Dacember,  1011. 


CONTENTS 

I.  Childhood  and  Youth     ....  19 

n.  Ministerial  TsAiNiNa      ....  36 

in.    Bangkok   43 

IV.  Pbchabubi — The  Call  of  the  North  63 

y.  The  Chabtbb  of  thb  Lao  Mission  .      .  66 

VI,     CUIENGMAI   77 

VII.    PiONKKR  Work   84 

VIII.     FlRSl -FRUITS   98 

IX.    MABrrv-DOH   102 

X.  The  Rotal  Commission    .      .      .  .118 

XI.  Death  of  Kawiloeot       .       .       .  .130 
XII.    The  New  Regime   140 

XIII.  EZPLOBATIOH      .        .        .  .  .ISO 

XIV.  First  Fublouob   160 

XV.  MuANQ  KSn  and  Chieno  Dao  .      .      .  169 

XVI.  Seekers  After  God        ....  180 

XVIL  Thb  Rbsidbnt  Commissionbb  .      .  .191 

XVIIL    Witchcraft   199 

XIX.  The  Edict  of  Religious  Toleration     .  207 

XX.  Schools — The  Nine  Ybabs'  Wandebeb  221 

XXL   Sboond  Fublouoh   sse 

XXII.  A  StTBTBTINa  EzPBDmON         .                .  844 

XXIII.  EvANQBLisno  Training    ....  366 

XXIV.  Stbugolb  with  the  Powbbs  of  Dabk- 

VMM   966 

XXV.  Christian  Communitikb  Plantbd   .      .  276 

XXVI.  A  Foothold  in  LampCn    ....  289 

IS 


16 


CON'JENTS 


XXVII.    A  Peisonek  of  Jesus  Christ        .       .  300 

XXVIII,    Circuit  Tour  wnu  My  Dauguteu       ,  308 

XXIX.  Lbnothbming  tub  Cobds  and  Stbbngth- 

KMNG  THE  Stakes       .       .       ,       .  320 

XXX.  Among  the  Musu  Villages — Famine    .  338 

XXXI.      ClUENG  KuNG  ANU  HIE  Sll'SAWNG  PaNNA  353 

XXXII.    TUIBD  FcBi.  ouGH — Station  at  Cuibno 

Rai   370 

XXXIII.  Tub  Regions  J!evoni)    ....  ,180 

XXXIV.  Thb  Closed  Uoor   402 

XXXV.    Conclusion   413 

Indbz   431 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Danibl  McGilvabt        ....  Fronti^iece 

rACING  FACE 

William  J.  Bingham  30 

Maha  Monkut,  Kino  op  Siah,  1851-1872      .       .  48 
Pagoda  of  Wat  Chkng,  HANr.KOK        ...  56 
Rbv.  Dan  Beach  Bbadley,  M.D.,  1872  .       '      I  7o 
KiwrL6BOT,  Pbincb  of  Chibnomai  (about  1869)  f 
A  Rest  Between  Rapids  in  thb  Gobgb  of  the  j 

Mb  Ping  Rivee  >•  76 

Poling  up  thb  Mb  Ping  Bivbr  .  .  .  ; 
Tbmflb  of  thb  Old  Tli  Sttlb  of  Abchitbctubb, 


Chievgmai  82 

A  Ckemation  Pkocession  146 

Intbbiob  of  a  Tbhplb,  PbI:  158 

An  Abbot  Pheachin';  188 

Intanon,  Pbincb  of  Cuibngmai     .      .      .  ) 

Eldbb  Nan  Suwan  f 

Dr.  McGilvaby,  1881  I  238 

Mas.  McGilvaby,  1881  I 

Chulalonokobn,  King  of  Siah,  1872-1910  242 

Pbbsbttbby,  Retubnino  fboh  Mbbting  in  Lakawn  264 

Market  Scene  in  Chiengmai        .       .       .  ) 

In  the  Harvest  Field  f 

GiBLti'  School  in  Chibnohai,  1898  .      .      .      .  284 

Rkv.  Jonathan  Wilson,  D.D  ,  1898       .       ,       .  294 

First  Chdrch  in  Chiengmai  .       .       .       .  ) 

>  318 

Db.  McQilv art's  Home  in  Chibnomai  .      .  I 

1\Irs.  McGiiA  AUY,  1803  332 

MuBo  Pkoplk  and  Hut  nbab  Chibng  Rai   .      .  348 

17 


18  ILLUSTRATIONS 

rteina  rto* 

Groitp  of  Yunnan  Lao  ......  356 

PuYA  SuKA  SiH,  Siamese  High  Commissioner  for 

THE  North  384 

Ills  Majesty,  Maua  Vajikavuph,  Kin(;  of  Siam  .  424 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  McGilvary,  Fifty  Years  after 

Thbib  Mabbiaob  428 


Map  of  Northbbk  Siam  Showing  Mission  Stations  326 
Map  of  Siam  43U 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH 


EREDITY  and  early  environment  exercise  snch 


a  determining  influence  in  forming  a  man's 


charncter  and  shaping  liis  destiny  that,  with- 
out some  linowledge  of  these  as  a  clew,  his  after-life 
would  often  be  unintelligible.  And  beyond  these  there 
is  doubtless  a  current  of  events,  directing  the  course 
of  every  man's  life,  which  no  one  else  can  see  so  clearly 
as  the  man  himself.  In  the  following  review  of  my 
early  life,  I  have  confined  myself,  therefore,  to  those 
events  which  seem  to  have  led  me  to  my  life-work,  or 
to  have  prepared  me  for  it. 

By  race  I  am  a  Scotsman  of  Scotsmen.  My  father, 
Malcom  McGilvary,  was  a  Highland  lad,  born  in  the 
Isle  of  Skye,  and  inheriting  the  marked  characteristics 
of  his  race.  In  1789,  when  Malcom  was  eleven  years 
old,  my  grandfather  brought  his  family  to  the  United 
States,  and  established  himself  in  Moore  County,  North 
Carolina,  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Cape  Fear  River. 
The  McGilvarys  had  but  followed  in  the  wake  of  an 
earlier  immigration  of  Scottish  Highlanders,  whose 
descendants  to  this  day  form  a  large  proportion  of  the 
population  of  Moore,  Cumberland,  Richmond,  Robeson, 
and  other  counties  of  North  Carolina.  My  father's 
brothers  gradually  scattered,  one  going  to  the  south- 
western, and  two  to  the  northwestern  frontier.  My 
father,  being  the  youngest  of  the  family,  remained  with 


10 


20    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


h,d  parents  on  the  homestead.  The  country  was  then 
sparsely  settled;  communicatiun  was  slow  and  uncer- 
tain. The  scattered  members  of  the  family  gradually 
lost  sight  of  one  another  and  of  the  home.  My  mother 
belonged  to  the  Mclver  clan  -from  the  same  regiou  of 
the  Scottish  Highlands,  and  as  numerous  in  North 
Carolina  as  the  McGiivarys  were  scarce.  She  was 
bom  in  this  country  not  long  after  the  arrival  of  her 
parents. 

I  was  born  May  16th,  1828,  being  the  youngest  of 
seven  children.  As  soon  after  my  birth  as  my  mother 
could  endure  the  removal,  she  was  taken  to  Fayette- 
ville,  thirty  five  miles  distant,  to  undergo  a  dangerous 
surgical  oi>eration.  The  journey  was  a  trying  one. 
Antesthetics  were  as  yet  unknown.  My  poor  mother 
did  not  long  survive  the  shock.  She  died  on  the  23d 
of  November  of  that  year. 

Since  feeding-bottles  were  not  then  in  use,  the 
motherless  infant  was  passed  around  to  the  care  of 
aunts  and  cousins,  who  had  children  of  like  age.  Two 
aunts  in  particular,  Catharine  Mclver  and  Margaret 
McNeill,  and  a  cousin,  EfBe  Mclver,  always  claimed  a 
Bhare  in  me  for  their  motherly  ministrations  till,  at  last, 
I  could  be  turned  over  to  my  sister  Mary.  She,  though 
but  six  years  my  senior,  was  old  beyond  her  years ;  and 
the  motherly  care  with  which  she  watched  over  her  lit- 
tle charge  was  long  remembered  and  spoken  o'  ;  >  he 
family. 

When  I  was  four  years  old,  my  father  married  bis 

second  wife,  Miss  Nancy  Mcintosh.  The  next  nine 
years,  till  my  father's  death,  June  8th,  1841,  were  sp^'nt 
in  the  uneventful  routine  of  a  godl^  >  ily  in  a  coun- 
try home.  My  father's  rigid  ideas  r'  jily  discipline 
were  inherited  from  his  Presbyteri</ ^  ancestors  in 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH 


21 


Scotland,  and  his  own  piety  was  of  a  distinctly  old- 
Bchool  type.  He  was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  church  at 
Buffalo,  Fayetteville  Pregbytery,  in  which  office  he  was 
succeeded  by  my  brother,  Evander,  and  three  others 
of  bis  sons  became  elders  in  other  churches.  No 
pressure  of  business  was  ever  allowed  to  interfere  with 
family  worship  night  and  morning.  A  psalm  or  hymn 
from  the  old  village  hymnbook  always  formed  part 
of  the  service.  My  father  was  an  early  riser,  and,  in 
the  winter  time,  family  worship  was  often  over  before 
the  dawn.  Almost  every  spare  moment  of  his  time  he 
spent  in  reading  Scott's  Family  Bible,  the  Philadelphia 
Presbyterian,  or  one  of  the  few  books  of  devotion  which 
composed  the  family  library.  The  special  treasure  of 
the  book-case  was  the  great  quarto  Illustrated  Family 
Bible,  with  the  Apocrypha  and  Brown's  Concordance, 
published  by  M.  Carey,  Philadelphia,  1815.  It  was  the 
only  pictorial  book  in  the  library,  and  its  pictures  were 
awe-inspiring  to  us  children — especially  those  in  the 
Book  of  Revelation : — The  Dragon  Chained,  The  Beast 
with  Seven  Heads  and  Ten  Horns,  and  the  Vision  of 
the  Four  Seals.  These  and  the  solemn  themes  of  Rus- 
sell's Seven  Sermons — which  on  rainy  days  I  used 
to  steal  away  by  myself  to  read — made  a  profound  im- 
pression on  me. 

Scottish  folk  always  carry  the  school  with  the  kirk. 
Free  schools  were  unknown;  but  after  the  crops  were 
"laid  by,"  we  always  had  a  subscription  school,  in 
which  my  father,  with  his  large  family,  had  a  leading 
interest.  The  teacher  "  boarded  around "  with  the 
pupils.  Our  regular  night-task  was  three  questions 
and  answers  in  the  Shorter  Catechism — no  small  task 
for  boys  of  ten  or  twelve  years.  My  memory  of  the 
Catechism  once  stood  me  in  good  stead  in  after-life. 


22    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


When  examined  for  licensure  bv  the  Orange  Pres- 
bytery, I  was  asked,  "  What  is  man's  state  by  nature?  " 
In  reply  I  gave  the  answers  to  the  ninetemth  an«! 
twentieth  questions  in  the  Catechism.  A  j)erceptible 
smile  passed  over  the  faces  of  many  of  the  presbyters, 
and  Father  Lynch  said,  "  He  is  right  on  the  Catechism. 
He  will  pass."  In  tLose  days  to  be  "  right  on  the 
Catechism  "  would  atone  for  many  failures  in  Hodge 
or  Turretin. 

The  charch  was  at  the  village  of  Buffalo,  four  miles 
from  our  home,  but  no  one  of  the  family  was  expected 
to  be  absent  from  the  family  pew  on  "  the  Sabbath." 
Carriages  were  a  later  luxury  in  that  region.  Uur  two 
horses  carried  father  and  mother,  with  the  yoongest 
of  the  little  folks  mounted  behind,  till  he  i^ould  be 
able  to  walk  with  the  rest. 

The  great  event  of  the  year  was  the  camp-meeting 
at  the  Fall  Communion.  It  served  as  an  epoch  from 
which  the  events  of  the  year  before  and  .ifter  it  were 
dated.  For  weeks  before  it  came,  all  work  on  the 
farm  was  arranged  w:th  refer^ce  to  "Buffalo  Sacra- 
ment"— pronounced  with  long  a  in  the  first  syllable. 
It  was  accounted  nothing  fur  pet)ple  to  come  fifteen, 
tWOTty,  or  even  forty  miles  to  the  meetings.  Every  pew- 
holder  had  a  tent,  and  kept  open  house.  No  stranger 
went  away  hungry.  Neighbouring  ministers  were  in- 
vited to  assist  the  pastor.  Services  began  on  Frid.^/, 
and  closed  on  Monday,  unless  some  special  interest  sug- 
gested the  wisdom  of  protracting  them  further.  The 
regular  order  was:  A  sunrise  prayer  meeting,  break- 
fast, a  prayer-me»  ting  at  nine,  a  sermon  at  ten,  an  in- 
termission, and  then  another  sermon.  The  sermons 
were  not  accounted  of  much  worth  if  they  w<'re  not  an 
hour  long.  The  pulpit  was  the  tail  old  fashioned  box- 


CFIILDHOOn  AND  YOUTH 


23 


pulpit  with  a  eounding-board  above.  For  want  of 
room  in  the  charch,  the  two  Rermons  on  Sunday  were 
preached  from  a  stand  in  the  open  air.  At  the  close 
of  the  second  sermon  the  ruling  elders,  stationed  in 
various  parts  of  the  congregation,  distributed  to  the 
communicants  the  ''tokens,'**  which  admitted  them 
to  the  sacramental  table.  Then,  in  solemn  procession, 
the  company  marche<l  up  the  rising  ground  to  the 
church,  singing  as  they  went : 

Children  of  the  Heavenly  King, 
As  ye  journey  sweetly  sing." 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  and  we  boys  nsed  to  climb  the 
hill  in  advance  to  see  it.  When  the  audience  was 
seated,  there  was  a  brief  introductory  exercise.  Then 
a  hymn  was  sung,  while  a  group  of  communicants  filled 
the  places  about  the  communion  table.  There  was 
an  address  by  one  of  the  ministers,  during  the  progress 
of  which  the  bread  and  the  wine  were  passed  to  the 
group  at  the  table.  Then  there  was  singing  again, 
while  the  first  group  retired,  and  a  second  group  took 
its  p^ace.  The  same  ceremony  wm  repeated  for  than, 
and  again  for  others,  until  all  communicants  present 
had  participated.  The  communion  service  must  have 
occupied  nearly  two  hours.  One  thing  I  remember 
well— when  the  children's  dinner-time  came  (which 
was  after  all  the  rest  had  dined),  the  sun  was  low  in 
the  heavens,  and  there  was  still  a  night  service  before 
us.  Notwithstanding  some  inward  reliellion,  it  seemed 
all  right  then.  But  the  same  thing  nowadays  would 
drive  all  the  young  people  out  of  the  church. 

*  Th*  "  token"  was  a  thin  square  pboe  of  Umi  «*»«■« p*^  wllh  Uie 
iaitial  lettei  of  liie  name  of  Uie  ciiurch. 


24    AMOXd  Tfli:  SIAMFSi:  AND  TUE  LAO 


With  Noiiio  diflidpiuc  I  vi-nlnro  tn  ituike  ono  rrili- 
cism  on  our  home  life.  The  "  Habbath "  was  too 
rigidly  observed  to  commend  itself  to  the  jadgment  and 
ronscipncp  of  cliildron — too  rigidlj-,  |»erhap8,  for  the 
most  healthy  piety  iu  adults.  It  is  hard  to  convince 
boys  that  to  whistle  on  Sunday,  even  though  the  tune 
be  "  Old  Hundred,"  is  a  sin  deserving  of  censure.  An 
afternoon  stroll  in  the  farm  or  the  orchard  iiii{;lit  even 
have  claritied  uiy  father's  vision  for  the  enjoyment  of 
his  Scott's  Bible  at  night.  It  would  surely  have  been 
a  means  of  grace  to  his  boys.  But  such  was  the  Scot- 
tish fypf  of  piety  of  lho.se  days,  and  it  was  stronply 
held.  The  family  discipline  was  of  the  reserved  and 
dignified  type,  rather  than  of  the  affectionate.  Im- 
plicit ol)edipnco  was  the  law  for  children.  My  father 
loved  bis  children,  but  never  descended  to  the  level 
of  familiarity  with  them  when  young,  and  could  not 
sympathize  with  their  sports. 

Hnt  dark  days  wore  cominp.  Brother  .John  Martin 
presently  married  and  moved  west.  In  August,  1840, 
an  infant  sister  died  of  quinsy — the'  first  death  I  ever 
witnessed.  On  June  8th.  1841,  the  father  and  "  house- 
bond  "  of  the  family  was  taken  away.  The  inher 
itance  he  left  his  children  was  the  example  of  an  up- 
right, spotless  life — of  more  worth  than  a  legacy  of 
silver  and  pnld.  These  we  might  have  squandered,  but 
that  was  inalienable. 

At  thirteen,  I  was  small  for  my  age — too  small  to  do 
a  man's  work  on  the  farm  ;and  there  was  no  money  witii 
which  to  secure  for  me  an  education.  Just  then  oc- 
curred one  of  those  casual  incidents  which  often  deter- 
mine the  whole  course  of  one's  life.  Mr.  Roderick  Mc- 
intosh, one  of  my  mother's  cousins,  being  disabled  for 
bard  work  on  the  farm,  bad  learned  the  tailor's  trade, 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH 


23 


and  wuH  then  living  in  the  Tillage  of  I'ittHburo,  twenty- 
one  miles  awaj.  His  father  was  a  neighboar  of  onn, 

and  a  man  after  my  fiitlu'i's  owd  iicart.  Tlio  two  fam- 
ilies had  thuit  alwa^'M  been  vi-rv  intiiiiali'.  Wl)!le  the 
questiun  of  my  destiny  wa.s  lliu.s  iu  the  batauce,  this 
cousin,  one  day,  while  on  a  visit  to  bis  father,  called  at 
our  hiiuse.  fie  had  iiimiutcd  liis  horse  (o  leave,  wheu, 
turning  to  ICvauder,  he  assiied,  "  What  is  iJan'l  going 
to  do? "  My  brother  replied,  " There  he  is;  ask  him." 
Tmuing  to  nie.  lie  said,  "  Well,  Daii'l,  how  would  you 
like  to  come  and  live  with  me?  I  will  teach  vou  a 
trade."  I  had  uever  thought  of  such  a  thing,  uor  had 
it  ever  !>een  mentioned  in  the  family.  But  somehow  it 
struck  me  favourably,  liistinetively  1  replied.  "  I  be 
lieve  I  should  like  it."  A  life  queHtion  could  not  have 
been  settled  more  fortuitously.  But  it  was  the  first 
step  on  the  way  to  Siaiii  and  the  Liio  Mission. 

On  the  last  day  A-ipust,  1841.  I  lu.de  farewell 
to  the  old  home,  with  I  its  pleasant  a^>sociatious. 
Every  spot  of  it  was  dear,  but  never  so  dear  as  then. 
Accompanied  by  my  brother  I'vamler.  eadi  of  us  riding 
one  of  the  old  family  horses,  1  started  out  for  my  new 
home.  The  departure  was  not  utterly  forlorn,  since 
Evander  was  still  with  me.  But  the  parting  from  him, 
as  he  started  back  next  day,  was  probably  the  hard- 
est thing  1  had  ever  experienced.  1  had  to  seek  a 
quiet  place  and  give  vent  to  a  flood  of  tears.  For  a 
time  I  was  inexpressibly  sad.  I  realized,  as  never  be- 
fore, that  I  was  cut  loose  from  the  old  moorings — was 
alone  in  the  world.  But  the  sorrows  of  youth  are  soon 
assuaged.  No  one  could  have  received  a  warmer  wel- 
come in  the  new  home  than  I  did.  There  were  two 
children  in  the  family,  and  they  helped  to  till  the  void 
made  by  the  separation. 


26    AMONG  HIE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


I'itUbui'u  wuH  uut  a  large  village,  but  us  uutluok  was 
broader  than  that  of  my  home.  The  world  seemed 
larger.  I  uiyHolf  felt  larger  tliuu  I  hud  done  us  a 
rouulry  hny.  1  iH-anl  «liseus.siou  ui  pulitics  uud  of  the 
que.slionH  of  (be  da^.  Tim  touuty  was  strongly  Whig, 
but  Mr.  Mcintosh  was  an  nnyielding  Democrat,  and  as 
fond  of  arj^utnent  as  a  politician.  According  to  south- 
ern custoiii,  stores  and  shops  were  favourite  rcsortH  for 
passing  away  idle  time,  and  for  sharpening  the  wits  of 
the  villagers.  The  recent  Presidential  campaign  of 
IS  to  fiirniHhcd  onending  themes  for  discussion  in  onr 
little  shop. 

There  was  no  Presbyterian  church  in  Pittsboro  at 

that  time.  The  church-going  population  was  divided 
between  the  MethodiHt  and  the  Kpiscopalian  churches, 
the  former  l>eing  the  larger.  With  my  cousin's  family 
I  attended  the  Methodist  church.  On  my  first  Sonday 
I  joined  the  Methodist  Sunday  School,  and  that  school 
was  the  next  importanc  link  in  my  chain  of  life.  Its 
special  feature  was  a  system  of  prize*^.  A  c<^rtaiu  n<iin- 
ber  of  perfect  answers  secured  a  blue  ticket; ten  of  these 
brought  a  yellow  ticket;  and  yellow  tickets,  according 
to  the  number  of  them,  entitled  the  possessor  to  various 
prizes — a  hymnbook,  a  Bible,  or  the  like.  On  the 
first  Sunday  I  was  put  into  a  class  of  boya  of  my 
own  age,  at  work  on  u  little  primer  of  on«,  hundred 
Hnd  six  questions,  all  answered  in  monosyllables.  By 
the  next  Sunday  I  was  able  to  recite  the  whale,  to- 
gether wi«h  the  Lord's  I'ra\or  and  the  Apostles'  Creed 
at  the  end.  It  was  no  great  feat;  but  the  teacher  and 
the  school  thought  it  was.  So,  on  the  strength  of 
my  very  first  lesson,  I  got  a  yellow  ticket,  and  was 
promoted  to  tlic  next  higher  class.  That  stimulated 
my  auibitiuu,  aiiU  i  Uc^ulcd  Ui^  e\eiy  spare  Itouc  to 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH 


27 


ttndy.  The  next  book  was  one  of  qumtionM  and  as* 
■wen  on  the  fonr  OoRpels.  They  wvrv  wry  eaty;  I 
wiis  alilc  I"  cfiiiiniif  li>  iiiciiiorv  scvcriil  liniulicd  iinswtTS 
diiiing  the  wetk.  iu  a  ifW  Sundays  I  gut  my  llrst 
prize ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  I  had  secured  all  the 
prizt'H  olTt'red  iu  tlie  8t'hool.  Wliut  wiis  of  far  iii(»ro 
valiu'  than  the  prizw  was  Mn'  jjii-aiiT  love  for  Ntiidy 
aud  for  (lie  jScripturt's  wliicii  liie  ttlort  Ijad  awalieiied 
in  me,  and  a  desire  for  an  education.  The  shop  was 
often  idle ;  I  liad  ploity  of  tin^  for  study,  and  made 
the  most  of  it. 

At  one  of  the  subsequent  Quarterly  Meetings,  a  Rev. 
Mr.  Drainard,  who  hail  considoraltlc  reputation  qh  a 
revivalist,  preached  one  Stunlay  nijilit  a  vivid  and 
thrilling  seruiun  on  Noah's  Ark  aud  the  Flood.  80 
mari^ed  was  the  impression  on  the  audience,  that,  at 
the  close,  according  to  the  Methodist  cnstoni,  ''  nioiirn- 
ers"  were  invited  to  the  altar.  Many  accepted  tiie  in- 
vitation. A  young  friend  sitting  beside  me  was  greatly 
affected.  With  streaming  eyes  he  said,  Dan'l,  let  us 
pi>.  for."  risinti;  up  :>"d  starlinf  as  he  spoke.  After 
a  few  uiumeutti  1  iollowed.  liy  this  time  the  space 
about  the  altar  was  well  fllk  1.  There  was  great  excite- 
ment and  no  little  confusion — exhortation,  singing,  and 
prayer  going  ou  all  at  once.  A  nundier  of  [)ersons 
made  profession  of  religion,  and  soon  my  young  friend 
joined  them.  He  was  full  of  joy,  and  was  surprised 
to  find  that  I  was  not  so,  too.  The  nieotings  were  con- 
tinued night  after  night,  aud  each  night  I  went  to  the 
altar.  As  I  look  back  upon  it  from  this  distance,  it 
seems  to  me  that,  with  much  exhortation  to  repent 
and  believe,  there  was  not  enough  of  clear  and  definite 
instruction  regarding  the  plan  of  salvation,  or  the  of- 
fices and  work  of  Christ.  One  night,  in  a  quiet  hour 


/ 


28    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  L^O 

at  home,  the  grounds  and  method  of  a  sinner's  ac- 
ceptance of  Christ  became  clear  to  me,  and  He  became 
my  Lord. 

Soon  after,  when  invitation  was  given  to  the  new  con- 
verts to  join  the  church  as  probationers,  I  was  urged 
by  some  good  friends  to  join  with  the  rest;  and  was 
myself  not  a  little  inclined  to  do  so.  It  was  no  doubt 
the  induence  of  my  cousin  that  enabled  me  to  with- 
stand the  excitement  of  the  revival  and  the  gentle 
pressure  of  my  Methodist  friends,  and  to  join,  instead, 
my  father's  old  church  at  Buffalo.  But  I  owe  more 
than  I  shall  ever  linow  to  that  Sunday  School,  and 
since  then  I  hare  always  loved  the  Methodist  Church. 
Meanwhile  the  prospects  for  an  education  grew  no 
brighter,  though  Mr.  Brantley,  then  a  young  graduate 
in  charge  of  the  Pittsboro  Academy,  but  afterward  a 
distinguished  Baptist  minister  of  Philadelphia,  gave 
me  a  place  in  his  school  at  idle  times;  and  a  Dr.  Hall 
used  to  lend  me  boolis  to  read. 

When  the  opportunity  for  acquiring  an  education 
finally  came,  i*^  was  as  unexj»ected  as  a  clap  of  thun- 
der out  of  a  blue  sky.  The  celebrated  Bingham  School, 
now  in  Asheviile,  N»)rth  Carolina,  was  then,  as  now,  the 
most  noted  in  the  South.  It  was  started  by  Rev.  Will- 
iam Bingham  in  Pittsboro,  North  Carolina,  in  the 
closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  moved 
to  Hillsboro  by  his  son,  the  late  William  J.  Bingham, 
father  of  the  present  Principal.  The  school  was 
patronized  by  the  leadinfj  families  of  the  South.  The 
number  of  pupils  was  strictly  limited.  To  secure  a 
place,  application  had  to  be  made  a  year  or  more  in 
advance. 

My  surprise,  therefore,  can  well  be  imagined,  when 
one  day  Baccus  King,  a  young  boy  of  the  town,  walked 


cniLnnooi)  and  youth 


29 


into  the  shop  v  ith  a  letter  addressed  to  Master  Daniel 
McGilvary  tiou)  no  J^ss  a  personage  than  William  J. 
Bingham,  <be  great  tea.  .<  r  and  Principal.  At  first  I 
thought  I  i\4'.>s  the  V'cti.u  of  some  boyish  trick,  lint 
there  was  f^t  i:  s  'jjnaturr,  and  the  explanation  that  fol- 
lowed removed  all  duubt.  Nathan  Btedman,  an  in- 
flii('nti;il  citizen  of  Pittshoro,  was  an  early  acquaintance 
and  friend  of  Mr.  Hingham.  He  had  visited  the  school 
in  person  to  secure  a  place  for  his  nephew,  young 
King,  and  bad  brought  back  with  him  the  letter  for 
me.  What  Mr.  Bingham  knew  of  me  T  never  dis- 
covered. No  doubt  Mr.  Stedman  could  have  told, 
though  up  to  that  time  I  had  never  more  than  spoken 
with  him.  Be  that  as  it  may,  there  was  the  letter 
with  its  most  generous  otFer  that  I  take  a  course  in 
Bingham  School  at  the  Principal's  expense.  He  was 
to  board  me  and  furnish  all  necessary  expenses,  which, 
after  graduation,  I  was  to  refiind  Iiy  teaching.  Tf  I 
became  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  the  tuition  was  to  be 
free;  otherwise  I  was  to  refund  that  also.  To  young 
King's  enquiry  what  I  would  do,  I  replied,  "  Of  course, 
I  shall  go."  My  cousin.  Mr.  Mcintosh,  was  scarcely 
less  delighted  than  1  was  at  the  unexpected  opening. 

The  invitation  to  attend  Bingham  School  came  in 
the  fall  of  184.'5,  when  I  was  in  my  eighteenth  year. 
There  were  then  only  two  weeks  till  the  school  should 
open.  I  had  little  p -eparation  to  make.  A  pine  box 
painted  red  was  soon  got  ready  to  serve  as  a  trunk,  for 
my  wardrobe  was  by  no  means  elaborate.  Mr.  Sted- 
man  kindly  offered  me  a  seat  with  Baccus  and  a  friend 
of  his  who  was  returning  to  the  school.  On  the  way 
Baccus'  friend  entertained  us  with  stories  of  the  rigid 
discipline,  for  th.s  was  in  the  days  when  the  rod  was 
not  spared.    I  had  no  fears  of  the  rod,  but  I  trembled 


30    AMONG  THE  SIAME?<E  AND  THE  LAO 

lesf  T  should  not  sustain  luysolf  as  well  as  such  great 
kindness  demanded.  It  might  be  a  very  ditlerent  thing 
from  winning  a  reputation  in  a  Methodist  Sunday 
School. 

It  was  dusk  when  we  reached  Tlie  Oaks.  The  fam- 
ily was  at  supiH-T.  Mr.  liingham  tame  out  to  receive 
us.  He  told  Baccus'  friend  to  take  him  to  his  own  old 
quarters,  and,  turning  to  nie,  said,  "  I  have  made  ar- 
rangements for  you  to  board  with  Mr.  C,  and  to  room 
with  Mr.  K.,  the  assistant  teacher,  till  my  house  is  fin- 
ished, when  you  are  to  live  with  us.  But  we  are  at 
supper  now.  You  must  be  hungry  after  your  long 
ride.  Come  in  and  eat  with  us."  After  supper,  Mr. 
Bingham  went  with  me  to  my  boarding-house,  and 
introduced  me  to  my  hosts  and  to  my  chum,  David 
Kerr.  He  welcomed  me,  and  said  he  thought  we 
should  get  along  tinely  together.  We  not  only  did 
that,  but  he  became  a  warm  friend  to  whom  I  owed 
much.  80  I  was  in  the  great  liingham  School,  over- 
whelmed with  a  succession  of  unexi)ected  kindnesses 
from  so  many  quarters !   What  did  it  all  mean? 

My  highest  anticipations  of  the  school  were  realized. 
If  there  ever  was  a  born  teacher,  William  J.  Bingham 
was  one.  Latin  and  Greek  were  taught  then  by  a 
method  very  different  from  the  modern  one.  Before  a 
sentence  was  i-ead  or  translate<l,  the  invariable  direc- 
tion was— master  your  grammar.  In  grammar-drill 
Mr.  Bingham  could  have  no  superior.  Bullion's 
Grammars  and  Readers  were  the  text-books.  The  prin- 
cipal definitions  were  learned  practically  verbatim. 
The  coarse  print  was  required  of  all  in  the  class.  The 
older  pupils  were  advised  to  learn  notes,  exceptions, 
and  all.  I  never  became  so  familiar  with  any  other 
books  as  with  that  series  of  grammars.   We  were  ex- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH 


31 


pected  to  decline  every  noun  and  adjective,  alone  or 
combined,  from  noniinativo  sinpjular  to  ablative  plural, 
backwards  ur  forwards,  and  to  give,  at  a  nod,  voice, 
mood,  tense,  number,  and  person  of  any  verb  in  the 
lesson.  Tiii'se  exercises  became  at  last  so  easy  that 
they  weiv  j;reat  fun.  Even  now,  sixty  years  later,  I 
often  put  myself  to  sleep  by  repeating  the  old  para- 
digms. 

It  may  seem  that  my  estimate  of  Mr.  IJingliaia  is 
prejudiced  by  my  sense  of  personal  obligation  to  him 
for  his  kindness.  Yet  I  doubt  not  that  the  universal 
verdict  of  every  one  who  went  there  to  study  would 
be  that  he  should  be  tated  as  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  teachers.  The  South  owes  much  to  him  for 
the  dignity  he  gave  to  the  profession  of  teaching.  No 
man  ever  left  a  d(H'per  impress  on  nic.  Thousands  of 
times  I  have  thanked  the  Lord  for  the  opportunity  to 
attend  his  school. 

I  was  graduated  from  the  school  in  May,  1849,  a  few 
days  before  I  was  twenty -one  yeai's  old.  On  leaving 
my  kind  friends  at  The  Oaks,  I  was  again  at  sea.  It 
will  be  remembered  that,  by  my  original  agreement,  I 
was  booked  for  teaching — but  I  had  no  idea  where. 
Once  more  the  unexpected  happened.  In  the  midst 
of  negotiations  for  a  school  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  state,  I  was  greatly  surprised  at  receiving  an  offer 
from  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  f)f  my  own 
town,  Pittsboro,  to  assist  me  in  organizing  a  new 
school  of  my  own  there.  With  much  doubt  and  hesita- 
tion on  my  part — for  there  wei'e  already  two  prepara- 
tory schools  in  I  he  place — the  venture  was  made,  and 
I  began  with  ten  pupils  taught  in  a  little  business  of- 
fice. The  number  was  considerably  increased  during 
the  year.  But  when  the  second  year  opened,  I  was  put 


32    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


in  charge  of  the  Acadeuiy,  whose  Principal  had  re- 
signed. Hero,  ill  work  both  i)leasant  and  fairly  profit- 
able, I  remained  uotil  the  four  jears  for  which  I  had 
agreed  to  stay  were  up. 

I  had  by  no  means  reached  my  ideal.  Bat,  as  my 
friends  had  itrcdicted,  it  had  been  a  success.  Some 
of  niy  warmest  supporters  were  sure  that  1  was  giv- 
ing up  a  certainty  for  an  uncertainty,  in  not  making 
teaching  my  life-work.  It  had  evidently  been  the 
liope  of  my  friends  from  the  first  that  i  would  make 
Pittsboro  my  home,  and  build  up  a  large  and  perma- 
nent school  there.  But  my  purpose  of  studying  for 
the  ministry  had  never  wavered,  and  that  made  it 
easier  for  me  to  break  off. 

During  these  four  years  my  relations  with  the  newly 
organized  Presbyterian  church  had  been  most  pleas- 
ant and  profitable.  Thore  was  no  resisting  the  appeal 
that  1  should  become  ruling  elder.  The  superintend- 
ency  of  the  Sunday  School  also  fell  naturally  to  me, 
and  opened  up  another  field  of  usefulness.  The  friend- 
ship formed  with  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  McNeill, 
Is  one  of  the  pleasant  memories  of  my  life. 

One  feature  of  the  church  connection  must  not  be 
passed  over.  Neither  of  the  other  elders  was  so  cir- 
cumstanced as  to  be  able  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
Orange  Presbytery.  Three  of  the  leading  professors 
in  the  University  were  members  of  the  Presbytery,  and 
all  the  leading  sc'iools  within  its  bounds  were  taught 
by  Presbyterian  miuisterf?  or  elders.  To  accommodate 
this  large  group  of  teachers,  the  meetings  were  held  in 
midsummer  and  midwinter.  Thus  it  fell  to  my  lot  to 
represent  the  Pittsboro  church  at  the  Presbytery  dur- 
ing nearly  the  whole  of  the  four  years  of  my  stay  in 
Pittsboro.   As  it  was  then  constituted,  its  meetings 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  83 


were  almost  equal  to  a  course  in  church  government. 
The  Rev.  J.  Doll,  oue  of  the  best  of  p-irliamentarians, 
was  stated  clerk.  A  group  of  members  such  as  the 
two  Drd.  Phillips,  father  and  son,  Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell, 
of  the  University,  and  many  others  that  could  be 
named,  would  have  made  any  assembly  noted.  Pro- 
fessor Charles  Phillips,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  candidates  for  the  ministry,  came  into  closer  tonch 
with  me  than  most  of  the  others.  Tie  afterwards  fol- 
lowed my  course  in  the  Seminary  with  an  interest 
ripening  into  a  friendship  which  continued  throughout 
his  life. 

The  meetings  of  the  Presbytery  were  not  then 
merely  formal  business  meetings.  They  began  on 
Wednesday  and  closed  on  Monday.  They  were  looked 
forward  to  by  the  church  in  which  they  were  to  be 
held  as  spiritual  and  intellectual  feasts.  To  the  mem- 
bers themselves  they  were  seasons  of  reunion,  where 
friradships  were  cemented,  and  where  wits  were  sharp- 
ened by  intellectual  conflicts,  often  before  crowded  con- 
gregations. 

Union  Seminary,  now  of  Richmond,  Vii^nia,  has 
always  heen  under  the  direction  of  the  Synods  of  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia;  and  there  were  strong  reasons 
why  students  from  those  Synods  should  study  there. 
They  were  always  reminded  of  that  obligation.  But 
the  high  reputation  of  l)rs.  Hodge  and  Alexander  was 
a  strong  attraction  toward  Princeton.  My  pastor  and 
Professor  Phillips,  chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge 
of  me,  had  both  studied  there.  So  I  was  allowed 
to  have  my  preference.  No  doubt  this  proved  another 
stepping-stone  to  Siam.  Union  Seminary  was  not  then 
enthusiastic  in  r^rd  to  foreign  missions,  as  it  has 
since  become.   At  the  last  meeiing  of  Presbytery 


34    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

that  I  was  to  attend.  Dr.  Alexander  Wilson  moved  that, 
inasmuch  as  Orange  Proshvtery  owned  ;i  si  lutlarsliip  in 
rrinceton  Sorninary,  I  be  assigned  t<»  it.  To  my  ob- 
jection that  I  liad  made  money  to  pay  my  own  way, 
he  replied,  "  Yon  will  have  pleuty  of  ni-ed  of  your 
iiioTicy.  You  ran  buy  books  with  it."  1  followed  the 
suggestion  and  laid  in  a  good  library. 


II 


MINISTERIAL  TRAINING 

1 ENTERED  Princeton  fc>kjininary  in  the  fall  of 
1853.  I  did  not  lodge  in  the  Seminary  building, 
but,  through  the  kindness  of  Kcv.  Daniel 
Dcrnuclle — whom,  as  ajjeut  of  tlie  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, 1  had  come  to  know  during  his  visits  to  I'itts- 
boro — I  found  a  charming  home  in  his  family.  Ttere 
were,  of  course,  some  disadvau(a}j;es  in  living  a  mile 
and  a  half  away  from  the  Seminary.  1  could  not  have 
the  same  intimate  relations  with  my  fellow  Btudents 
which  I  might  hare  had  if  lodged  in  the  S«ninary. 
But  I  had  the  delightful  uornc-life  which  most  of  them 
missed  altogether.  And  the  compulsory  exercise  of 
two,  or  sometimes  three,  trips  a  day,  helped  to  keep 
me  in  health  throughout  my  course.  I  became,  indeed, 
a  flrst  rat'  walker — an  accomplishment  which  has  since 
stood  me  lu  good  stead  in  all  my  life  abroad. 

Being  from  the  South,  and  not  a  college  graduate,  as 
weit;  most  of  the  students,  I  felt  lonesome  enough 
when,  on  the  first  morning  of  the  session,  I  entered 
the  Oratory  and  looked  about  me  without  discovering 
a  single  face  that  I  knew.  But  at  the  close  of  the 
lecture  some  one  who  had  been  told  by  a  friend  to  look 
out  for  me,  touched  me  on  the  shoulder,  made  himself 
known,  and  then  took  me  off  to  introduce  me  to  J. 
Aspinwall  Hodge,  who  was  to  be  a  classmate  of  mine. 
No  man  ever  had  a  purer  or  a  better  friend  than  this 

85 


36    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


young  irnn,  afterward  Dr.  J.  ARpinwall  Hodge;  and 

I  never  iiit  t  ii  friend  iiiori'  oppnrliinely. 

Of  our  revered  (eaehers  and  of  the  Htudics  of  the 
Seminary  course  there  is  no  need  to  speak  here.  Onr 
class  was  a  slrou}?  one.  Aiiioiij;  its  luemlHirs  were  such 
men  as  (Javlev.  .Mills,  .lonatluin  W  ilson,  Nixon,  I-efevre, 
and  ("haney.  Of  these  (layley  and  .Mills  were  already 
candidates  for  missionary  work  abroad.  In  other 
cliisscs  were  Robert  McMullen  and  Isidore  Loewen- 
thai,  destined  to  become  martyrs  in  Cawnpore  and 
I'eshawur.  Many  were  the  stirring  apiKjals  we  heard 
from  these  men.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  too,  had  given  a 
son  to  India;  and  lie  nevcM-  s[iok('  iimre  Impressively 
than  when  he  was  pleading  the  cause  of  foreign  uiis- 
sior"  Princeton,  moreover,  because  of  its  proximity 
tr>  ■  York  and  to  the  headquarters  of  the  various 
missionary  societies  establisluMl  then',  was  a  favourite 
field  for  the  visits  of  the  Seci-etaries  of  these  organi- 
zations, and  of  returned  missionaries.  A  notable  visit 
during  my  first  year  was  that  of  Dr.  .Mexander  HufT, 
tlien  in  is  prime.  No  one  who  heard  him  could  forget 
his  s(  iiing  criticism  of  the  church  for  "playing  at 
missions,"'  or  his  impassioned  apix;al8  for  labourers. 

So  the  question  was  kept  constantly  before  me.  lUit 
during  the  first  two  years,  the  difiiculty  of  the  ac- 
quisition of  a  foreign  language  by  a  person  not  gifted  in 
his  own,  seemed  an  obstacle  well-nigh  insuperable. 
Conscience  suggested  a  compromise.  Within  the  field 
of  Home  Missions  was  there  not  equal  need  of  men 
to  bring  the  bread  of  life  to  those  who  were  perishing 
without  it?  With  the  object  of  finding  some  such  op- 
portunity, I  spent  my  last  vacation,  in  the  summer  of 
1855,  in  Texas  as  agent  of  the  American  Socday  School 
Union. 


M1NI8TE11IAL  TKAININO 


37 


Texas  affordc  tl,  indtt-d,  j;ic;it  upiMirtiinitics  for  (^hris- 
tiuu  work;  but  in  tuc  one  object  of  tiuewt— u  field 
wltere  Christ  was  not  preached— I  was  disappointed. 
In  every  small  village  there  was  already  a  *liurfh — 
ofh'ti  iiioic  tliini  one.  Kvcii  in  country  s<iuHilliousen 
MetbodiHts,  I'apti.sts,  and  Cumberland  i'resbyteriaus 
had  regular  Sunday  appointments,  each  having  ac- 
quired ehiim  to  a  particular  Sunday  nf  the  month. 
♦Jonditioua  were  such  tbat  tbe  growth  of  one  sect  usu- 
ally meant  a  corresponding  weakening  of  the  others. 
It  was  possible,  of  course,  to  find  lixal  t  xctplions. 
ISut  it  is  easier  even  now  tt>  liiid  viliaj;es  l)y  tiie  liun- 
dred,  with  three,  four,  and  even  five  I'rotestant 
churches,  aided  by  various  missionary  societies ;  where 
all  the  inhabitants,  working  togetlier,  could  do  no  more 
than  support  one  church  well.  This  may  be  neces- 
sary; but  it  is  surely  a  great  waste. 

Prom  this  trip  I  had  just  returned  with  these 
thoughts  in  my  mind,  and  \.as  entering  upon  niy  senior 
year,  when  it  was  announced  that  Dr.  8.  U.  House,  a 
missionary  from  Siam,  would  address  the  students. 
Expectation  was  on  tij^toe  to  hear  from  this  new 
kingdom  of  Siani.  Tiic  address  was  a  revelation  to  us 
all.  The  opening  of  the  kingdom  to  American  mis- 
sionaries by  the  reigning  monarch,  Maha  Mongkut — 
now  an  old  story— was  new  then,  and  sounded  like  a 
veritable  romance.  My  liesitation  wns  ended.  Here 
was  not  merely  a  village  or  a  parish,  but  a  whole 
kingdom,  just  waking  from  its  long,  dark,  hopeless 
sleep,  livery  sermon  I  preached  tlwiv  might  be  to 
those  who  had  never  heard  that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven 
who  made  them,  or  a  Saviour  from  sin. 

The  appeal  was  for  volunteers  to  go  at  once.  None, 
however,  of  the  mca  who  had  announted  themselves  as 


38    AMOXU  TUl'.  SIAMKSE  AND  Till:  I.AO 


caiKlitlalcs  for  scrvicf  iiliniihl  \v<>n'  iiv;iiliil»lf  I'dr  Siatn. 
They  wore  all  i»U'dged  to  »»tliitr  tields.  The  call  fuuud 
Jonathan  VVllHon  and  myself  In  much  the  name  state 
of  expectancy,  wailing  for  a  ch'iir  revelation  of  diit.v. 
AfitT  anxiouH  eousiiltaliou  and  prayer  together,  and 
with  Dr.  House,  we  promis«'d  hiiii  tliat  we  would  n'lve 
the  matter  oar  most  serions  thought.  If  the  Lord 
should  lead  us  tliiliici'.  we  wnnid  <ii>. 

Meanwiiile  the  Kev.  Andrew  15.  Morse  had  been  ap- 
pointed a  missionary  to  Binm,  and  the  immediate 
urgency  of  the  ease  was  thus  lightened.  Shortly  l>e 
fore  the  close  oi"  my  Seminary  «M)nrHe,  in  IS.'t!,  there 
came  to  me  a  call  to  the  j.istorate  of  two  contiguous 
churches,  those  of  Carthage  and  of  Union,  in  ray  native 
county  in  North  Carolina.  The  call  stcuKd  a  pnivi 
dential  one,  and  1  accepted  it  for  one  year  only.  My 
classmate,  Wilson,  soon  after  accepted  a  call  to  work 
among  the  Indians  in  Spencer  Academy. 

My  parish  was  an  admiraMe  one  for  the  haininji  of 
a  young  man.  The  church  at  Union  was  one  of  the 
oldest  in  the  state.  The  church  at  Carthage,  five 
miles  away,  was  a  colony  fmiii  Tnion.  No  disliiicl 
geographical  line  separated  the  two.  Many  of  the 
people  regularly  attended  both.  That,  of  course,  made 
the  work  harder  for  a  young  pastor.  The  extreme 
limits  of  the  two  parislies  wtrc  fifteen  miles  apart. 
But  these  were  church  going  lulk,  mostly  of  Scottish 
descent— not  "dry-weather  Christians."  The  pastor- 
ate had  l)een  vacant  a  whole  year. 

the  first  morning  service  the  church  was  crowded 
to  its  ut""^8t  capacity.  Some  came,  no  doubt,  from 
cariosity  •'  hear  the  new  preacher;  but  most  of  them 
were  hungry  for  the  Gospel.  They  had  all  known 
my  father;  and  some  had  known  me — or  known  of  me 


MINISTKUIAL  TKAINIXCJ 


39 


— front  IxpvIkhmI.  I  (<)iil<i  not  avp  had  n  more  «Tm- 
Iiullit'tii  niuli»'U''i',  iiH  1  loarut'ii  fr<  ja  tUc  words  <»f  ap- 
preciation and  encouragenmit  spoken  to  me  after 
cliiirdi— ('S|H'oiaIly  those  apedccn  hj  my  br^lMr,  who 
was  preHcut. 

The  year  pasoed  rai)iill\.  Tbe  worli  bad  in  .--pered 
and  was  delightful.    In  it  I  formed  tiie  taste  for 

pviuip<'liKtio  touriT'tr.  w'  ici  «  afterwards  ii-  hf  'ny 
work  among  tlic  Lw.  Tiicr-  Lad  iieen  a  nuiiil)cr  of 
acceasiona  in  both  charoh<>«<  It  whr  eaay  to  become 
engrossed  in  one'  lirsf  charpr  anionf.'  a  p<"  plo  so  sym- 
pathetir,  iiul  fo  ovorlook  faraway  Siani.  Indeed,  I 
had  becoihu  mt  far  intiuenml  I.  -rfsent  siurnnmd- 
ings  as  to  allow  my  nanw  to  b-  < .  before  a  meet- 
ing of  tli(>  corifrtvf::!! ion  wifli  a  view  ,,,  iccomiTiu  t[w\r 
permaueul  paslor.  Their  rhoiie  uf  uie  was  unanimous. 
Moreover,  I  had  been  dismisfied  from  my  old  Pres- 
bytery to  the  one  within  whose  bounds  my  parish 
was.  Tlio  rcpjnlar  iiifH'linfi  <■(  tin  latter  was  not  far 
off,  when  arraiigeincnts  were  to  made  for  my  ordina 
tion  and  installation. 

As  the  time  drew  iii>ar.  do  wli.it  I  rnifrht,  my  joy 
in  arcepting  the  call  seemed  marred  by  the  thought 
of  Siam.  T  learned  that  the  Siamese  Mission,  in- 
stead of  f;rf)win<;  stronjjer,  was  hwoming  weaker.  Mr. 
Morse"^  'calth  li;id  coinpletcly  broken  down  during 
his  first  year  in  »he  field.  He  was  then  returning  to 
the  United  Staten.  Mrs.  Mattoon  had  already  come 
back  an  inTalid.  Her  bnsband,  after  ten  years  in 
Siam,  was  gr-eatly  in  need  of  a  change;  bnt  was 
holding  on  in  desperation,  hoping  against  hope  that 
he  might  be  relieved. 

The  question  of  my  going  to  Siam,  which  had  been 
left  an  open  one,  most  now  soon  be  settled  by  my  ac- 


^1 


i  \ 

I  i 


40    AMONG  TOE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

cepting  or  declining.  I  nooded  counsel,  but  knew  not 
on  what  earthly  source  to  tall.  When  the  question  of 
Siam  flrst  came  up  in  Princeton,  I  had  written  to  lead- 
ing nionibers  of  the  Orange  Pri'sbytery  for  advice,  stat- 
ing the  claims  of  Siam  so  strongly  that  I  was  sure 
these  men  would  at  least  give  me  some  encouragement 
toward  going.  Hut  the  reply  I  had  from  one  of  them 
was  typical  of  all  the  rest :  "  We  do  not  know  about 
Siam;  but  we  do  know  of  such  and  such  a  church 
and  of  such  and  sach  a  field  vacant  here  in  Orange 
Presbytery.  Still,  of  course,  it  may  \xi  your  duty  to 
go  to  Siam."  In  that  quarter,  surely,  there  was  no 
light  for  me.  So  I  devoted  Saturday,  August  1st,  to 
fasting  and  prayer  for  guidance.  In  the  woods  back 
of  the  Carthage  church  and  the  Acadony,  the  decision 
was  finally  reached.   I  would  go. 

Next  morning  I  stopped  my  chief  elder  on  his  way 
to  church,  and  informed  him  of  my  decision.  After 
listening  to  my  statement  of  the  case,  he  replied,  "  Of 
course,  if  it  is  settled,  there's  nothing  more  to  be  said." 
It  chanced  that  Mr.  Rnssell,  my  former  assistant  in 
the  Pittsboro  Academy,  had  just  finished  his  theo- 
logical course;  and,  wholly  without  reference  to  the 
question  pending  in  my  mind,  had  arranged  to  preach 
for  me  that  day.  The  session  was  called  together  be- 
fore service,  was  notified  of  my  decision,  and  was  re- 
minded that  the  preacher  of  the  day  would  be  avail- 
able as  a  snccessor  to  me.  He  preached  a  good  ser- 
mon, had  a  conference  with  the  session  afterwards,  and 
was  virtuallv  engnjred  tliat  day.  The  following  week 
brought  notice  of  my  appointment  as  missionary  to 
Siam. 

The  Inst  communion  season  of  that  year  wns  one  of 
more  than  usual  interest.   The  meetings  began  on 


MIVISTERIAL  TRAINING  41 

Friday.  Since  the  minds  of  the  congregation  were 
already  on  the  subject  of  foreign  missions,  and  since 
Dr.  McKay,  from  my  home  church,  had  been  appointed 
by  the  8ynod  to  preach  on  that  subject  at  its  coming 
session  in  Charlotte,  I  prevailed  upon  him  to  preach 
to  lis  the  sermon  tliat  he  had  prepared.  The  text  was 
from  Romans  x:14,  "How  shall  tliey  hear  without  a 
preacher?"  No  subject  could  have  been  more  ap- 
propriate to  the  occasion.  It  produced  a  profound 
impression.   Some  were  affected  to  tears. 

The  sermon  was  a  good  preparation  for  the  com- 
munion service  that  followed.  At  the  night  service 
there  was  deep  seriousness  throughout  the  congrega- 
tion, and  a  general  desire  to  have  the  meetings  con- 
tinued. On  Monday  tliere  was  an  unexpectedly  large 
congregation.  At  the  busiest  season  of  the  year  fann- 
ers had  left  their  crops  to  come.  The  meetings  soon 
grew  to  be  one  protracted  prayer  meeting,  with  occa- 
sional short  applications  of  Scripture  to  the  questions 
which  were  already  pressing  upon  our  minds. 

Finally,  after  the  meetings  had  been  continued  from 
Friday  until  Wednesday  week,  they  were  reluctantly 
brought  to  a  close;  both  because  it  seemed  unwise  to 
interruj»t  longer  the  regular  life  of  the  community, 
and  also  because  the  leaders  no  longer  had  the  voice 
to  carry  them  on.  As  a  result  of  the  meetings,  there 
were  about  eighty  accessions  to  the  two  Presbyterian 
churches,  as  well  as  a  number  to  other  churches.  Many 
asked  if  I  did  not  see  in  the  revival  reason  to  change 
my  mind  and  remain.  But  the  eflfect  on  me  was  just 
the  opposite.  It  was  surely  the  best  preparation  I 
could  hav-  had  for  the  long  test  of  faith  while  waiting 
for  results  in  Siara. 

Inasmuch  as  my  certificate  of  dismissal  had  never 


42    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
been  lormally  presented  to  the  FayetteviUe  Presbytery, 
I  preferred  to  return  it  to  my  old  Orange  Presbytery, 
and  to  receive  my  ordination  at  its  hands.   On  De- 
cember 11th.  the  P-esbvtery  met  at  my  old  home  in 
Pittsboro.   The  installation  of  a  foreign  missionary 
was  new  to  the  Presbytery,  as  well  as  to  the  church 
and  the  connnnnity.   When  the  ordaininp  prayer  was 
ended,  there  seemed  to  be  but  few  dry  eyes  in  the  con- 
gregation.  It  was  a  day  I  had  little  dreamed  of  six- 
teen years  before,  when  I  first  came  to  Pittsboro  an 
orphan  boy  and  an  apprentice.    I  felt  very  small  for 
the  great  work  so  solemnly  committed  to  me.  Mis- 
sionary fields  were  further  off  in  those  days  than  they 
are  now,  and  the  tsnd'^rtaking  seemed  greater.  The 
future  was  unknown;  bat  in  God  was  my  trust— and 
He  has  led  hxe. 


Ill 


BANGKOK 


N  reaching  New  York  I  went  directly  to  the 


Mission  Honse,  then  at  23  Centre  Street.   As  I 


mounted  the  stops,  tlio  first  man  I  met  on  the 
landing  was  Jonathan  Wilson.  We  had  exchanged  a 
few  letters,  and  each  knew  that  the  other  had  not  for- 
gotten Siam;  but  neither  expected  to  meet  the  other 
thore.  "Where  are  you  going?"  sai  one.  "I  am 
ou  my  way  to  Siam,"  said  the  other.  "  80  am  1," 
was  the  reply.  In  the  meantime  he  bad  married  and, 
with  his  young  wife,  was  in  New  York  awaiting 
passage.  We  took  the  first  opportunity  that  offered, 
the  clipper  ship  David  Brown,  bound  for  Singapore, 
and  sailing  on  March  11th,  1858. 

Sailors  have  a  tradition  that  it  is  unlucky  to  have 
missionaries  on  board;  but  the  weather  was  propitious 
throughout,  and  the  voyage  a  prosi)erou8  one.  We 
three  were  the  only  passengers,  and  we  proved  to  be 
good  sailors.  Our  fare  was  reasonably  good.  We 
had  plenty  of  good  reading,  and  soon  settled  down  to 
steady  work.  The  ship  was  somewhat  undermanned; 
and  this  fact  was  given  as  an  excuse  for  not  having 
service  on  Sundays.  Hut  we  had  a  daily  prayer-meet- 
ing throughout  the  voyage,  with  just  a  sufficient  num 
ber  present  to  plead  the  promise :  "  W^here  two  or  three 
are  ^athereil  together  in  niy  name."  Wc  also  had 
fri-e  access  to  the  men  in  the  forecastle  when  off  duty. 
We  had  the  excitement  of  an  ocean  race  with  a  twin 


43 


44      AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  L.iO 


ship  of  Ihe  sjiiiio  liue,  wliieb  was  to  sail  a  wcoli  after 
us.  As  we  reatlied  Anjer  Straits  on  the  seventy-eighth 
day  out,  a  sail  loomed  up  which  proved  to  be  our  com- 
ixititor.  She  liad  heaten  us  by  a  week!  Ten  days 
later  we  reached  Singapore,  where,  indeed,  we  met  no 
brethren,  but  were  met  by  welcome  lett»8  from  Siam. 
Like  I'aul  at  the  Three  Taverns,  "  we  thanked  God  and 
took  courage.''  One  of  the  letters  ran  thus : 

"  Those  w'cro  frood  wordis  that  came  to  our  half-discouraged 
band— the  tidings  that  we  are  to  have  helpers  in  our 
work.  ...  In  our  loneliness  we  have  sometimes  heeu 
tempted  to  feel  that  our  brethren  at  home  had  forgotten 
us.  But  we  rejoice  to  know  that  there  are  hearts  in  the 
(•hurpii  wlii.  h  sympathize  with  us,  and  that  you  are  willing 
to  come  and  participate  with  us  in  our  labours  and  trials, 
our  joys  and  Borrows,  for  we  have  both." 

We  were  fortunate  to  secure  very  early  passage  for 

r.anjikdk.  On  Friday,  .Tune  tSth,  we  reached  the  bar 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Menaiu  Kiver.  The  next  day  we 
engaged  a  small  schooner  to  take  us  up  to  Bangkok. 
With  a  strong  tide  against  us,  we  were  uot  able  that 
evening  to  get  further  than  Mosciuito  I'diut— the  most 
appropriately  named  plate  in  all  that  land— only  to 
learn  that  we  could  not  reach  Bangkok  until  Monday 
afternoon.  There  was  no  place  to  sleei*  on  board  ;  and 
no  sleeping  would  have  been  possible,  had  thei-e  been 
a  place.  By  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  could 
endure  it  no  longer; — the  mosquito  contest  was  too 
iHK'qual.  .Vt  last  we  found  a  man  and  his  wife  who 
would  lake  us  to  the  city  in  their  two-oared  skiff. 

Fifty  years'  residence  in  Siam  has  not  surpassed  the 
romance  of  that  night's  ride.  Leaving  our  goods  be- 
hind, we  seated  ourselves  in  the  tiny  craft.  With  gun- 
wales but  two  inches  above  the  water's  edge,  we 


BANGKOK 


45 


Rkiinnipd  alonp;  through  a  narrow  winding  oiinal  over- 
hung with  strange  tropical  trees.  The  moon  was  full, 
but  there  was  a  haze  in  the  air,  adding  weirdness  to 
things  but  dimly  seen.  The  sight  of  our  first  Buddhist 
monastery,  with  its  while  columns  and  grotesque  fig- 
ures, made  us  feel  as  if  we  were  passing  through  some 
fairyland. 

Just  at  dawn  on  Sunday  morning,  June  20th,  1858, 
we  landed  at  the  mission  compound.  Our  quiik 
passage  of  only  one  hundred  days  took  our  friends  by 
surprise.  Dr.  House,  roused  by  our  voices  on  the 
veranda,  came  en  ih'shnbillc  to  the  door  to  see  wluit 
was  the  matter.  Finding  who  we  were,  the  eager  man 
thrust  his  hand  through  a  vacant  square  of  the  sash, 
and  shook  hands  with  us  so,  before  he  would  wait  to 
open  the  door.  We  were  in  Rangkok!  It  was  as  if 
we  had  waked  up  in  a  new  world— in  the  Bangkok  to 
which  we  had  looked  forward  as  the  goal  of  our  hopes ; 
which  was  to  be,  as  we  suppowd,  tlio  home  of  our  lives. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Mattoon  was  still  at  his  post,  awaiting 
our  coming.  Mrs.  Mattoon  and  her  daughters  had 
been  toiiipelled  to  leave  for  home  some  time  before  our 
arrival.  And  not  long  thereafter  Mr.  Mattoon  fol- 
lowed them  on  his  furlough,  long  overdue.  IJesides 
the  two  men  of  our  own  mission,  we  found  in  Bangkok 
the  Rev.  Dan  B.  Bradley,  who  was  conducting 

a  self-supporting  mission;  Rev.  S.  J.  Smith,  and  Rev. 
R.  Telford  of  the  Baptist  mission. 

Since  neither  Bangkok  nor  Lower  Siam  proved  to 
be  my  permanent  home,  I  shall  content  myself  with  a 
very  summary  account  of  the  events  of  the  next  three 
y«irs. 

The  first  work  of  a  new  missionary  is  to  acquire  the 
language  of  the  country.   His  constant  wish  is,  Ob 


46    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AN!1  T^IE  LAi) 


for  a  gift  of  tongues  to  speak  to  the  people !   As  soon 

as  a  teaclier  could  be  found,  I  settled  to  work  at  my 
kaic,  kd,  ki,  kU  No  ambitious  Ireshiuun  has  such  an 
incentive  for  study  as  has  the  new  missionary.  It  is 
well  if  he  does  not  coutine  himself  to  granuiuir  and 
dictionary,  as  lie  did  iu  the  case  of  his  liatin,  (Ireek, 
and  Hebrew.  I'allegoix's  Dictionariuiii  Linyuav  Thai, 
and  his  short  Grammar  in  Latin,  were  all  the  foreign 
helps  we  had.  The  syntax  of  the  lanfjuage  is  easy; 
but  the  "  tones,"  the  "  aspirates,"  and  *'  inaspirates," 
are  peritle-xing  beyond  belief.  You  try  to  say  "fowl." 
No,  that  is  egg."  You  mean  to  say  "  rice,"  but  you 
actually  say  "  mountain." 

A  thousand  times  a  day  the  new  missionary  longs  to 
open  his  mouth,  but  his  lips  are  sealed.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  continual  iv<;\\'l  that  he  cannot  pour  out  his 
soul  in  the  ardour  of  his  tirst  love,  unchilled  by  the 
deadening  intluences  to  which  it  is  sure  to  be  sub- 
jected later.  But  the  delay  is  not  an  unmitigated 
evil.  He  is  in  a  new  world,  in  which  he  is  constantly 
reminded  of  the  danger  of  giving  offence  by  a  breach 
of  custom  as  unalterable  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians.  A  bright  little  boy  runs  up  and  salutes  you. 
You  stroke  his  long  black  hair,  only  to  be  reminded 
by  one  of  your  seniors — "  Oh!  you  must  micr  do  that! 
It  is  a  mortal  offence  to  lay  your  hand  on  a  person's 
head."  So,  while  you  are  learning  the  language,  you 
are  learning  other  things  as  well,  and  of  no  less  im- 
portance. 

In  the  mission  school  there  was  a  class  of  bright 

boys  named  Ne,  Dit,  (Mifin,  Kwai,  Henry,  and  one 
girl,  Tuan.    To  my  great  delight.  Dr.  House  kindly 
turned  them  over  to  me.   It  made  me  think  I  was 
'  The  first  excrctsc  of  the  Siamese  8pe!llng-book. 


I5A\(iK()K 


47 


doing  sometliiug,  and  1  really  was.  I  soon  became 
deeply  interested  in  these  children.  N6  grew  to  be  an 
important  busintss  man  and  an  elder  in  the  church; 
Tuan's  family  betamo  one  of  the  most  iulluential  in 
the  cburtb.  Iler  two  sous,  tbe  lale  I'.uu  It  and  Elder 
Bun  Yi  of  the  First  Church  in  Chiengmai,  have  been 
among  the  very  best  fiuils  of  the  mission;  though  my 
personal  share  in  their  training  was,  (tf  oours*',  very 
slight.  In  the  yepteniber  after  our  arrival  there  was 
oi^anjzed  the  Presbytery  of  Siam,  with  the  four  mm 
of  the  mission  as  its  constituent  members.  During  tbe 
first  Iwo  years,  moreover,  I  made  a  number  of  tours 
about  the  country— sometimes  alone,  oftener  with  Dr. 
House,  and  once  with  Mr.  Wilson. 

I  bad  the  pleasure  of  meeting  His  Majesty  the  King 
of  Sianj,  not  only  at  his  birthday  celebrations,  to 
which  foreigners  were  invited,  but  once,  also,  at  a 
public  audience  on  the  occasion  of  the  presentation 
of  a  letter  from  President  James  IJuchanan  of  the 
United  States.  This  was  through  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 
J.  H.  CJhandler,  the  acting  United  States  Consul.  Two 
royal  state  barges  were  sent  down  to  the  Consulate  to 
receive  the  President's  letter  and  the  consular  party. 
Siamese  etiquette  requires  tbnt  the  letter  be  accorded 
the  same  honour  as  would  be  given  the  President  in  per- 
son. In  the  first  barge  was  the  letter,  placed  in  a 
large  golden  urn,  with  a  pyramidal  cover  of  gold,  and 
escorted  by  the  four  officers  who  attend  upon  Hia 
Majesty  when  he  ai)pears  in  public.  In  the  second 
barge  was  the  consular  party. 

After  a  magnificent  ride  of  four  miles  up  the  river, 
we  wei-e  met  at  the  palace  by  gilded  palanquins  for 
the  members  of  the  party,  while  the  letter,  in  a  special 
palanquin  and  under  the  golden  umbrella,  led  the  way 


48    AMONG  TIIR  8IAMi:sR  AND  THE  LAO 


to  the  I'alace,  some  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  At  the 
Palace  gate  a  prince  of  rank  met      and  nshered  ub 

into  the  royal  presence,  where  His  Majesty  sat  on  his 
throne  of  gold,  richly  overhung  with  gilded  tapestry. 
Advancing  toward  the  throne,  and  bowing  low,  we 
took  our  stand  erect,  while  every  hig^  prince  and  noble- 
man about  IIS  was  on  l)ended  kaem,  not  daring  to  raise 
his  eyes  above  the  tioor. 

The  Consal  then  read  a  short  introductory  speech, 
stepped  forward,  and  placed  the  letter  in  the  extended 
hands  of  the  King.  Having  glanced  over  it,  the  King 
handed  it  to  his  secretary,  who  read  it  aloud,  His 
Majesty  translating  the  substance  of  it  to  the  princes 
and  nobles  present.  The  King  then  arose,  put  his 
scarf  about  his  waist,  girded  on  his  golden  sword, 
came  down,  and  shook  hands  with  each  of  the  party. 
Then,  with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  he  said, "  We  have  given 
President  Buchanan  the  first  public  reception  in  our 
new  palace,"  adding,  "  I  honour  President  Buchanan 
very  much."  He  escorted  the  party  around  the  room, 
showing  us  the  i)ortraits  of  George  Washington,  Presi- 
dent Pierce,  Queen  Victoria,  and  Prince  Albert.  Then, 
taming  to  the  proper  officer,  he  directed  him  to  con- 
duct us  to  an  adjoining  room  to  partake  of  a  luncheon 
prepared  for  us;  and,  with  a  bow,  withdrew. 

After  "  tiffin,"  we  were  escorted  to  the  landing  as 
we  had  come,  and  returned  in  like  state  in  the  royal 
barge  to  the  Consulate.  Altogether  it  was  a  notable 
occasion. 

Of  the  tours  undertaken  in  Lower  Siam,  the  one 
which  led  to  the  most  lasting  results  was  one  in  1S59 
to  Pecliabm  i,  which  has  since  become  well  known  as 
one  of  our  mission  stations.  For  companion  on  this 
trip  I  had  Cornelius  Bradley,  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brad 


BANGKOK  49 

ley  of  Bangkok.  Shortly  before  this  a  rising  young 
nohloman.  iin.l  a  lil.orai minded  friend  of  forelgr«rt 
had  been  assigned  t(.  the  |.lnro  ..stensihiv  „f  lieutonant- 
porernor  (Pra  Palat)  of  I'ethahurl,  bui  praeficaliv  of 
governor.  He  wan  a  brother  of  the  future  Regen(  • 
I'fi.l  l>e..n  on  t\n>  first  embassy  to  Kngland;  and  at  a 
hiter  period  beeaiue  Minister  for  Foreign  AfFairs.  At 
our  call,  Hf8  Excellency  received  us  very  kindly^  and 
before  we  left  invited  as  to  dine  with  him  on  the 
following  evening. 

The  dinner  was  one  that  wonld  have  done  credit  t.. 
any  hostess  in  America.   I  was  still  more  surprised 
when,  at  the  table,  addressing  me  by  a  title  then  given 
to  all  missionaries,  he  said,  '>  Mau  "  (Poetor),  "i 
want  you  to  come  and  live  in  i'eehaburl.   You  have 
no  family.    I  will  furnish  yon  a  honse,  and  give  yon 
every  assistance  you  need.    You  can  teach  as  much 
Christianity  as  you  please,  if  only  y,.M  will  teach  my 
son  English.   If  yon  want  a  school,  I  will  see  that 
you  have  pupils."    I  thanked  hii.i  for  the  offer,  but 
could  only  tell  him  that  I  would  think  the  matter  over 
It  might  be,  after  all,  only  a  Siamese  cheap  compli- 
ment.   It  seemed  too  good  to  be  tme.   It  was,  how- 
ever, directly  in  the  line  of  my  own  thoughts.    I  had 
come  to  Siam  with  the  idea  of  leav;  .-  he  great  com- 
mercial centres,  and  making  the  exiieriment  among  a 
rural  population  like  that  of  my  North  Carolina 
charge. 

The  next  day        Pra  Palat  called  on  us  at  our 
and  again  broached  the  subject.   He  was  very 
anxious  to  have  his  son  study  English.   In  my  mission 

'  A  public  rr  t-house  or  shelter,  such  as  Buddhist  pletv  providaa 


&U    AMuN(i  THE  HIAMEHB  AND  THE  LAO 


work  I  Hhould  he  untran)iiii'IU-<l.  IU-r<ire  Icnvin^  un,  he 
moitionei)  tlif  iniittcr  n-rjiin  It  Wiis  (liis  limo  un 
coorteon^  ''vas  ou  wlicn  I  tolil  liini  I  wuuld  von  if  I 
ronld. — \Vlt;it  did  it  all  inean? 

I  rc'hn  !.«•<!  (  >  llanjrkok  full  <'nth!.-iasin  lur 
I'cchnlMii  1  Tm  more  1  |M>ndfiv<l  it,  ihc  jjnatiT  tlu 
otffr  8<  .  H'd  H.  Ik.'.  IScyund  ni.v  iimliUTt'on  lur  a 
smallor  fity  (>>*  fur  rural  worit,  I  actually  d  d  a»t  like 
MaURk  ik  I'l  ^ilmri.  Ii  ut  v*  r,  was  U-yoni'  Mio  iiinits 
of  trea!,>  rijjLis.  I'erinis^mn  to  t'8tabli»ili  a  kI;!  on 
there  could  l>e  had  "nly  by  safferaiice  from  a  {lovern- 
monr  not  hilinTtM  noted  for  liberality,  lit  re  was  an 
invitation  e<]ni vnlcnt  »<  ,i  d  |H'rinii  aii  I  with  no 
fnr*>,er  ii'd  la|>i»  alx  it.  I  loiild  vv  (  i  ly  one  ob- 
stacle in  the  way.  The  Henior  nM^tnlter  of  the  miHiiion 
— the  one  who  wn^  iiatnra)i\  itH  head — 1  feared  wonid 
not  approve.  An<l  he  <Iid,  indivd,  look  attkanee  at  'le 
prop<)siti«)n.  He  dutdtle«l  whether  wv  eould  trust  the 
protniaea  made.  .\nd  th*ii  to  g<»  t^i  far  away  alonp'. 
But  I  thoii;;!  I  '  new  hunmn  n:if  ii-  well  enon<;h  to 
tmat  that  man.  .\s  to  beiBg  aloi.  ,  1  was  willing  to 
risk  that.  Possibly  if  might  not  be  beat  to  ride  a 
free  horse  f(»o  freelv.  >  would  ni>  with  my  ei)nif>- 
nient.  and  he  at  ^vv't  indepi  udenf  :  th> 

I'alal  had  said  tlwit  he  di  1  in  !  mind  li  e  ex|'  li 
only  he  could  get  bis  mn  taught  English. 

Fhere  eonld  at  least  lie  no  <■  ,e(tion  to     iik  -i' 
•    lerimental  visit   and  (hen  eo:  linuinj?  it  as 
I   ght  seem  wise.    Pechaburf      within  thirty 
i  Bangkok.    If  taken  sick,  I  i mid  run  »>ver  in  da> 
■•  two.  li  lliat  iinderstanditiu,  :i :     with    hi  'it 

ather  thau  llie  t  xiiresseii  sai   iioi;  ol  the  missi<  I 
began  to  make  prefmrations. 
At  Isat  my  preparations  *  -re  .  oLiplete,  ev^ai  to 


BANGKOK 


61 


baktni'  umi  '  <•  fhf  fri;>.  1  had  fltte<l  nji  a  tuiiriiiK 
b(>ui  of  !»'  iiii-i  luid  •  n^jjed  <'apf^  n  ;  id  lM»at- 

mev  ,  wb«  .  ..  ! 'le  da>  bef«»re  I  was  to  Ktart,  cholera, 
whirh  fur  mifne  time  bad  i)een  !i}>oradii<  in  Bangkok, 
fiudU' nly  5  '  "ideinie.       II  tlicfi  U  ,  ,1   ncN  Camp- 

bell, jtiivsiciit;  'n     •  IJ'  f    ■  (.'(mKUlate,  aiiv.  our  med- 
ical a^  ^  'trit^    iMiu^'ht  I        jth  cautimi  and  prtidence 
j  mi^ii      (ft  '  '        \      n«  ral  panii'  now  ar'  <>  nil 
«T  f!      an  '  »'y  fame  to  tell  Miat 

.    :tli8  w  if  •  u       !  ly  on  the  canal  It,        it  li 

'  -va*  to  ii  =  •'        =  wo-  4  be  to  tempt  j  rovi- 

4if  igfat     ^tion,  and  it  came 

il!       Wll  '  "  t'>.  (Writ  . 

It*'  tir  met  next  morii  np  wan  Dr.  Hoaw, 

•i»ir  '  -'-i-  frmii  Mr.  Wilson's,    lie  lia<'  ix    '  called 
In  iitlcnd  M'^.  Wilson,  who  h  mI  I    -n  Kud- 
<iei  \  -mi  with  "the  discuHe,"  an  ^he  itives 

eopben  ••tit'ally  call  It,  being  snpemtitio  t.!  ifnrid 
i>f  ut      ng  the  name    Dr.  Hons,  had  fai  oheck 
it,    I!      nt  nip  '    <  all  Dr.  CauiplK-ll.    Hut  not 
t  an  ■  'Uu  not  get  the  niessafrc  till  n  a. 

n  tin    rbe  patient  had  roachoil  the  st.-k  -n 
•    a.v  alw'Ut  t(»  onsue.    The  disease  was 
o«l    lUt  Mr?!.  Wilson  was  left  in  a  very  ptecari- 
<>u  condition. 

ieanw  hile  her  little  dauphtor  Harriot  was  also  taken 
ii,  and  fi.i-  a  time  llie  lilV  of  both  iiioiher  and  danji'  ter 
wa'-   -i  suspense.    The  ihiU;  I'ngered  on  till  May  l.^th, 
wben  she  was  taken  to  a  beiter  clime.  On  July  14th  tke 
r,  too,  ceased  from  her  suffering,  and  entered  on 
r  everlasting  rest, 
mng  these  months,  of  course,  all  thoughts  of 
I^ciidburi  had  been  abandoned;  nor  would  it  then 
oave  oeeB  deemed  wise  to  travel  daring  the  wet  sea- 


52     AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


Bon.  Before  the  next  dry  season  came,  Htingkok  be- 
gan to  have  more  attractions,  and  I  had  become  less 
ambitious  to  start  a  new  station  alone.  On  the  11th 
of  September  I  became  engaged  to  Miss  Sophia  Royce 
Bradley,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  D.  B.  Bradley,  M.D. 
On  December  6th,  1860,  we  were  married.  In  my 
wife  I  found  a  helpmeet  of  great  executive  ability,  and 
admirably  qualified  for  the  diversified  worii  before  us. 
It  was  something,  too,  to  have  inherited  the  best  tradi- 
tions of  one  of  the  grand  missionaries  of  his  age.* 

Samre,  our  mission  station  in  Bangliok,  was  four 
miles  distant  from  the  heart  of  the  city.  We  greatly 
needed  a  more  central  station  for  our  work.  Dr. 
Bradley  offered  us  the  use  of  a  house  on  his  own 
premises — one  of  the  most  desirable  situations  in 
Bangkok — if  we  would  come  and  live  there.  The  mis- 
sion accepted  his  generons  offer.  With  relnctance  I 
resigned  whatever  claim  I  might  have  to  be  the  pioneer 
of  the  new  station  at  Pechaburi.  We  were  settled,  as 
it  would  seem,  for  life,  in  Bangkok. 

'  Dr.  Bradley'«  life  would  be  the  beat  history  we  could  have  of 
Siam  during  <te  transition  period.  He  left  a  voluminous  diary,  and 
it  was  from  his  pen  that  most  of  the  exact  infwnuUiiai  coacenting 
Siam  WM  kng  derived. 


IV 


PECHABURl—THE  CALL  OP  THE  NORTH 

BY  this  time  the  mission  generally  had  become 
interested  in  the  estabiishment  of  a  new  sta- 
tion at  Pechaburi.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  House  were 
designated  for  the  post.  The  Doctor  actually  went 
to  Pechabnr! ;  procured  there,  through  the  help  of  our 
frienrl  the  Palat,  a  lot  with  a  house  on  it;  and  thus 
committed  the  mission  to  the  project.  But  the  day 
before  he  was  to  >tart  homeward  to  prepare  for  re- 
moval thither,  he  was  so  seriously  hurt  by  a  fall  from 
his  horse  that  he  was  confined  to  his  bed  for  several 
months.  It  was  even  feared  that  he  was  permanently 
disabled  for  active  life.  A  new  adjustment  of  our 
personnel  was  thus  necessitated.  Dr.  Mattoon  had 
just  returned  from  the  United  States  with  the  Rev. 
S.  Q.  McFarland,  the  Bev.  N.  A.  McDonald,  and  their 
wives.  Dr.  Mattoon  could  not  be  spared  from  Bang- 
kok, nor  was  he  enthusiastic  over  the  new  station. 
Mr.  McDonald  had  no  desire  for  such  experiments. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McFarland  were  anxious  to  move, 
bat  were  too  new  to  the  field  to  be  sent  out  alone. 
They  were  urgett  that  we  should  go  with  them.  My 
opportunity  had  come.  So,  early  in  June,  1861,  we 
broke  up  the  first  home  of  onr  married  life,  and,  in 
company  with  the  McFarlands,  moved  on  to  onr  new 
home  and  our  new  work. 
Our  friend,  the  Pra  Palat,  seemed  pleased  that  we 


54    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


had  come,  :tftcr  all.  His  slight  knowledge  of  English 
had  been  learned  as  a  private  pnpil  from  Mrs.  Mc- 
Oilvary's  own  niotlier.  He  was  glad,  whenever  he  had 
leisure,  to  continue  his  studies  with  Mrs.  McGilvary. 
Mr.  McFarland  preferred  school  work.  He  took  the 
son  that  I  was  to  have  taught,  and  k-ft  me  untrani- 
UM'lled  to  cuter  upon  evangelistic  work.  The  half  ho,;r 
after  each  evening  nu'al  we  spent  in  united  prayer  for 
fniidanee  and  success.  Two  servants  of  each  family 
were  sclccfed  as  special  subjects  of  prayer;  and  these, 
in  due  time,  we  had  the  pleasure  ot  welcoming  into 
the  church. 

Of  the  incidents  of  our  Pechabnrl  tife  I  have  room 

for  hut  a  singh'  one.  As  we  were  rising  from  the 
dinner-table  one  Sunday  shortly  after  our  arrival,  we 
were  snrprised  to  see  a  man  coming  up  the  steps  and 
crossing  the  veranda  in  haste,  as  if  on  a  special  errand, 
lie  led  by  the  hand  a  little  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  years, 
and  said,  "  I  want  to  commit  this  son  of  mine  into 
yonr  care.  I  want  yon  to  teach  him."  Btmck  by  his 
earnest  manner,  we  drew  from  him  these  f:u'ts:  lie  was 
a  farmer  named  Nai  Kawn,  living  some  Ave  miles  out 
in  the  country.  He  had  just  heard  of  our  arrival,  had 
come  immediately,  and  was  very  glad  to  find  us. 

We  asked  whetlier  lie  had  ever  met  a  missionary  be- 
fore. No,  he  said,  but  !:is  father — since  dead — had 
once  met  Dr.  Bradley,  and  had  received  a  book  from 
him.  He  had  beg^;ed  other  books  from  neighbours',  who 
had  received  them  but  did  not  value  them.  Neither 
did  be  at  first,  till  the  great  cholera  scourge  of  1849, 
when  people  were  dying  all  around  him.  He  was 
greatly  alarmed,  and  learned  from  one  of  the  books 
that  I*ra  Yesu  heard  prayer  in  trouble,  and  <<)uld  save 
from  sin.   For  a  long  time  he  prayed  for  light,  until, 


PECHABURI— THE  CALL  OF  THE  NORTH  55 


about  three  years  ago,  ho  lu  liovod  in  Jesus,  and  was  now 
happy  in  heart.  He  had  heard  onoe  of  Dr.  IJradle.v's 
coming  to  Pechaburi,  but  not  until  he  was  gone  again. 
He  preached  to  his  neighbonrs,  who  called  him  "  Kon 
Pra  YesQ"  (Lord  Jesus'  man).  He  had  prayed  for 
Dr.  Bradley  and  the  missionaries;  he  had  read  the 
story  of  Moses,  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  Gospel 
of  John,  a  tract  on  1 'raver,  and  "The  Golden  Bal- 
ance"; and  he  believed  tiieni.  lie  could  rejieat  i)or- 
tions  of  Romans  and  John  verbatim ;  and  he  had  his  son 
repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

My  subject  at  the  afternoon  service  was  Nicodemus 
and  the  New  Birth.  Nai  Kawn  sat  spellbound,  fre- 
quently nodding  assent.  At  the  close  we  asked  him 
to  speak  a  few  words;  which  he  did  with  great  clear- 
ness. On  being  questioned  as  to  the  Trinity,  he  replied 
that  he  was  not  sure  whether  he  understood  it.  He 
gathered,  however,  that  Jehovah  was  the  Father  and 
Ruler;  that  the  Son  came  to  save  us  by  dying  for  as; 
and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Comforter.  The  diflfer- 
ence  between  Jesus  and  Buddha  is  that  the  latter  en- 
tered into  Nirvana,  and  that  was  the  last  of  him; 
while  Jesus  lives  to  save.  He  even  insisted  that  he 
had  seen  a  vision  of  Jesus  in  heaven.  His  other  ex- 
periences were  characterized  by  such  marks  of  sober- 
ness that  we  wondered  whether  his  faith  might  not 
have  been  strengthened  l)y  a  dream  or  a  vision. 

This  incident,  coming  so  soon  after  our  arrival, 
greatly  cheered  us  in  our  work.  His  subsequeut  story 
is  too  long  to  «"ollow  out  in  detail  here.  His  piety  and 
his  sincerity  were  undoubted.  He  lived  and  died  a 
Christian;  yet  he  never  fully  identitied  himself  with 
the  church.  He  insisted  that  he  had  been  baptized  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  there  was  no  need  of  farther 


56    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


baptism.  Not  long  after  tliis  T>r.  r.radlry  and  Mr. 
Mattoon  visited  Pechaburi,  examined  the  man,  and 
were  equally-  .surprised  at  his  history. 

What  changed  our  life  work  from  the  Siamese  to 
the  Lao?   There  were  two  principal  causes.    The  vari- 
ous LSo  states  which  are  now  a  part  of  8iam,  were 
then  ruled  bv  feudal  princes,  each  virtually  sovereign 
within  his  own  dominions,  but  all  required  to  pay  a 
triennial  visit  to  the  Siamese  capital,  bringing  the 
customary  gifts  to  their  suzerain,  the  King  of  Siam, 
and  ren.  ,  ing  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  him.  Their 
realms  served,  moreover,  as  a  "  buflfer  "  between  Siam 
and  Burma.   There  were  six  of  these  feudal  principal- 
ities.   Five  of  them  occupied  the  basins  of  live  chief 
tributaries  of  the  Mtoam  Riv  -r;  namely— in  order 
from  west  to  east— Chiengmai,  Lamptin,  Lakawn,  Pre, 
and  Nan.  The  sixth  was  Lttang  Prabfing  on  the  M6 
Kong  River.    The  rapids  on  all  these  streams  had 
served  as  an  effectual  barrier  in  keeping  the  northern 
and  the  southern  states  quite  separate.   There  was 
no  very  frequoit  communication  in  trade.   There  was 
no  mail   communication.    OflQcial   despatches  were 
passed  along  from  one  governor  to  the  next.  Very 
little  was  known  in  Bangkok  about  the  lAo  provinces 
of  the  north.    A  trip  from  Bangkok  to  (^hiengmai 
seemed  then  like  going  out  of  the  world.   Only  one 
Englishman,  Sir  Robert  Schomburgk  of  the  British 
Consulate  in  Bangkok,  had  ever  made  it. 

Of  these  Lao  states,  Chiengmai  was  the  most  im- 
portant.  After  it  came  Nan,  then  Lttang  Prabang 

(since  ceded  to  the  French),  Lakawn,  Pr*,  and  Lam- 
pto.  The  Lfto  people  were  regarded  in  Siam  as  a  very 
warlike  race;  one  chieftain  in  particular  being  famed 


PECHABURl— THE  CALL  OF  THE  NORTH  57 


as  a  great  warrior.  They  woe  withal  said  to  be  sos- 

picious  and  unreliable. 
Almost  the  only  visible  result  of  my  six  months'  stay 

within  the  cit.v  of  Hanskok,  after  my  marriage,  was 
the  formation  of  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  Prince 
of  Chioigmal  and  his  family.  Just  before  my  mar- 
riage he  had  arrived  in  Ban^ok  with  a  great  flotilla 
of  boats  and  a  great  retinue  of  attendants.  The 
grounds  of  Wat  Chfing  monastery,  near  to  Dr.  Brad- 
ley's compound,  had  always  been  their  stopping  place. 
The  conse(iuenco  was  (hat,  of  all  the  missionaries,  Dr. 
Bradley  had  become  best  acquainted  with  them  and 
most  deeply  interested  in  them.  He  earnestly  cul- 
tivated their  friendship,  invited  them  to  his  printing- 
office  and  to  his  house,  and  continually  preached  onto 
them  the  Gospel.  They  were  much  interested  in  vac- 
cination, which  he  had  introduced,  and  were  delighted 
to  And  that  it  protected  them  from  smallpox. 

The  day  after  our  marriage,  in  response  to  a  present 
of  some  wedding  cal:e,  the  Prince  himself,  with  his  two 
daughters  and  a  large  train  of  attendants,  called  on  us 
in  our  now  home.  This  was  my  first  introduction  to 
Chao  KawilOrot  and  his  family,  who  were  to  play  so 
important  a  r61e  in  my  future  life.  All  that  I  saw 
of  him  and  of  his  people  interested  me  greatly.  Dur- 
ing the  short  lime  we  remained  in  their  neighbouiiiood, 
1  made  frequent  visits  to  the  Lao  camp.  The  subject 
of  a  minion  in  Chiengmai  was  talked  of,  with  apparent 
approval  on  the  part  of  the  Prince.  My  interest  in 
Pechaburl  was  increased  by  the  knowledge  that  there 
was  a  large  colony  of  Lao  *  there.   These  were  cap- 

>  The  application  of  this  name  is  by  m  mean*  ttiiifwm  throoghout 
Oie  prainmila.  From  LQaog  Pi^jlag  aonthmud  akmc  tb«  «ntwa 
frontwr.  tbe  uibea  of  Uiat  stock  call  tbsaadTti  Lao  sad  an  so 


58    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


tives  of  war  from  the  r^on  of  KbOrat,  bearing  no 

very  dose  rcsiinhlaiue  to  our  later  parishioners  in 
tlie  north.  At  tiio  Unu>  of  our  stay  iu  IVcliaburi,  the 
Luo  in  that  province  wei-e  held  as  govermuent  slaves, 
engaged  all  day  on  varioas  pnblic  works — a  circum- 
stance wliicli  fiivatly  inipodod  onr  access  to  theni,  and 
at  the  same  time  made  it  more  diUicult  for  them  to  em- 
brace Christianity.  Neither  they  nor  we  dared  apply 
to  the  government  for  the  requisite  sanction,  test 
thi'reliy  their  <ase  bo  made  worse.  Our  best  oppor- 
tunity for  work  among  them  was  at  night.  My  mosi 
pleasant  memories  of  Pechabnri  cluster  about  scenes 
in  Lao  villages,  when  the  whole  population  would  as- 
semble, either  around  a  camj*  fire  or  under  the  bright 
light  of  the  moon,  to  listen  till  late  in  the  night  to  the 
word  of  God.  The  conversion  of  Nfii  Ang,  the  first  one 
from  that  colony,  anticipated  that  of  NSn  Inta,  and  the 
larger  ingathering  in  the  North. 

But  there  was  more  than  a  casual  connection  be- 
tween the  two.  My  labours  among  them  increased 
the  desire,  already  awakened  in  me,  to  reach  the  home 
of  the  race.  Here  was  another  link  iu  the  chain  of 
providences  by  which  I  was  led  to  my  life-work.  The 
time,  however,  was  not  yet  riiHJ.  The  available  force 
of  the  mission  was  not  yet  large  enough  to  justify 
further  expansion.    Moreover,  our  knowledge  of  the 

cMlleil  by  tlieir  nfighbours.  But  'he  central  anil  western  groups  do 
not  acknowledge  tlic  name  as  ilici  .  at  all,  but  call  themselves  limply 
Tai;  or  if  a  distinction  must  be  made,  they  call  themselves  Kon  KQa 
(Northerners),  and  the  Siamese,  Kon  Tai  (Southerners).  The  81»- 
laese,  on  the  other  hand,  also  call  tbemaclTcs  Tai.  which  is  r<»lty  the 
race-name,  common  to  all  branches  of  the  rtock;  and  they  apply  the 
name  Lao  alUie  to  all  their  northern  cousins  except  the  N-  or 
Wester!:  Bhans.  Nothing  is  known  of  theori.LMu  of  the  nann  but 
the  same  root  no  doubt  appears  in  sucli  tribal  and  geograpliical 
names  as  Lawa,  Lawa,  L.iwo— the  lust  hcing  the  nameol  tiM  famoiH 
abandoned  capital  now  kuotvu  asi  i-opiiburi.— iiu. 


PECHABURT— THE  CALL  OF  Till:  XOHTII  r.9 


Luo  country  was  not  suth  as  to  make  possible  any 
comprehensive  and  intelligent  plans  for  a  miMion 
tlu'ic.  The  first  thing  to  do  was  evidently  to  make  a 
tour  of  exploration.  The  way  to  such  a  tour  was 
opened  in  the  fall  of  18G3.  The  Presbytery  of  8iam 
met  in  Bangkok  early  in  November.  I  had  so  ar- 
ranged my  affairs  if  (lie  way  should  ojion,  I  c(*uld 
go  north  directly,  without  returning  to  Pecbaburi.  I 
knew  that  Mr.  Wilson  was  free,  and  I  thought  he 
would  favour  the  trip.  This  he  readily  did,  and  the 
mission  gave  its  sanction.  ►So  I  toiiiniirte<l  my  wife 
and  our  two-year  old  daughter  to  the  care  of  loving 
grandparents,  and,  after  a  very  hasty  preparation, 
wc  started  on  the  20th  of  November  in  search  of  far- 
away Chiengmai. 

The  six-oared  touring-boat  which  I  had  fitted  up  in 
my  bachelor  days  was  well  adapted  for  our  purpose 
as  far  as  the  first  fork  of  the  Mtoam.  The  Siamese 
are  experts  with  the  oar,  but  are  unused  to  the  setting- 
pole,  which  is  well-nigh  the  only  mource  all  through 
the  upi>er  reaches  of  the  river.  It  was  sunset  on  a  Fri- 
day evening  before  we  finally  got  oil'.  lJut  it  was  a 
start;  and  it  proved  to  be  one  oi  the  straws  on  which 
(he  success  of  the  trip  depended.  The  current  against 
us  was  very  strong;  so  we  slept  witl.in  the  city  limits 
that  night.  We  s{>ent  all  day  Saturday  traversing  a 
canal  parallel  with  the  river,  where  the  current  was 
weaker.  It  was  sunset  before  we  entered  again  the 
main  stream,  and  stopped  to  spend  Sunday  at  a  monas- 
tery. To  our  great  surprise  we  found  that  the  Prince 
of  Chiengmai— of  whose  coming  we  had  had  no  intima- 
tion—had camped  tliere  the  night  before,  and  had 
passed  on  down  to  Bangkok  that  very  morning.  Wo 
had  misiwd  him  hy  taking  the  canal ! 


GO     AM()N(J  Tin:  SlAMKSi:  AM)  THi:  LAO 


We  were  iu  duubt  whether  we  uught  uut  to  returu 
and  get  a  letter  frutu  him.  A  favourable  letter  would 
be  in  valuable;  but  be  might  refuMe,  or  even  forbid  our 

going.  If  w(?  may  jud^e  fruiii  wliaf  \\v  nftiTWiinls 
knew  of  liia  ttUHpicious  nature,  amh  piobubiy  would 
have  been  the  outcome.  At  any  rate,  it  would  delay 
Uh;  and  we  had  already  a  passjHtrt  from  tlie  Siaint'se 
government  which  would  t'lisurt-  our  trip.  And,  doubt- 
less, we  did  accompii»>h  our  di-sigu  with  more  freedom 
because  of  the  Prince's  absence  from  his  realm.  It 
was  apparently  a  fortuitous  ihiu^  that  our  uicu  knew 
of  the  more  bluggisb  chanuel,  aud  so  missed  the  Luo 
flotilla.  But  it  is  quite  possible  that  upon  that  choice 
depended  the  establishment  of  th*'  L.'h)  mission. 

All  went  well  until  we  i-eatlied  the  liist  fork  iii  Pak 
nam  I'O.  There  the  water  came  rushing  down  like  a 
torrent,  so  swift  that  oars  were  of  no  avail.  We  tried 
first  one  side  of  the  streain  and  then  the  other,  but 
all  in  vain.  Our  boatmen  exchanged  their  oars  fur 
poles.  But  they  were  awliward  and  unaccustomed  to 
their  use.  The  boat  would  inevitably  drift  down 
stream.  The  poor  boatmen  lau<?bed  despairingly  at 
their  own  failure.  At  last  a  rope  was  suggested.  The 
men  climbed  the  bank,  and  dragged  the  boat  around 
the  point  to  where  the  current  was  less  swift.  But 
when,  as  often  hai»j>ened,  it  became  necessary  to  cross 
to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  the  first  push  otf  the 
bank  would  send  us  into  water  so  deep  that  a  fifteen- 
foot  pole  could  not  reach  bottom.  Away  would  go 
the  boat  some  hundreds  of  yards  down  stream  before 
we  could  bring  up  on  the  opposite  bank.  We  reached 
Bahtog,  however,  in  nineteen  travelling  days — ^which 
was  not  by  any  means  bad  time. 

In  our  various  joumeyings  hitherto  we  had  con- 


PECHA  BURT— THE  CALL  OP  THE  NORTH  61 


iKilhd  oiir  nwii  means  of  transportation.  Hence- 
foi  tli  we  wore  at  the  iiiony  of  native  oniciala,  to  whose 
tenuKTatnent  such  things  as  punituality  and  speed 
are  alhigether  alien.  Prom  Rabtog  the  trip  by  ele- 
jiliant  to  ('liii'n^'iii.'ii  should  ho  only  twelve  days.  By 
Itoat,  the  tiijt  would  he  iinich  longer,  though  the  re- 
turn trip  would  be  eorresiHuidingly  Hhnrter.  We  had 
a  letter  from  Mangkok  to  the  ofBcials  along  the  ronte, 
directing  tlicm  to  procure  for  us  liojits,  elephants,  or 
men,  as  might  nml.  We  were  in  a  hurry,  and, 
besides,  were  yonng  and  impuIsiTe.  The  otBcials  at 
Kiilienir  assured  us  that  we  sbould  have  prompt 
despatch.  No  une,  however,  seemed  (o  make  any  ef- 
fort to  send  us  on.  The  governor  was  a  great 
Buddhist,  and  fond  of  company  and  argnment.  He 
could  match  our  Trinity  by  a  Huddhist  one:  PutthS, 
Thammr.,  Hangkho— Buddha,  the  Scriptures,  the 
Brotherhood.  Men's  own  good  deeds  were  their  only 
atoTiement.  The  one  religion  was  as  good  as  the  other. 
On  these  siibjecls  lu  w  uld  lalk  by  the  hour;  but  when 
urged  to  get  our  elephants,  hi  always  had  an  excuse. 
At  last,  In  despair,  we  decided  to  take  onr  bcmtmen 
and  walk.  When  this  news  reached  the  governor, 
whether  from  pity  of  us,  <  r  from  fear  that  some  trouble 
might  grow  ont  of  it,  be  nmt  word  that  if  we  would 
wait  till  the  next  day,  we  should  have  the  ^ephants 
without  fail. 

We  got  the  elephants;  but,  as  it  was,  from  preference 
T  walked  most  of  the  way.  Once  T  paid  dear  for  my 
walk  Ity  getting  separated  from  my  elephant  in  the 
morning,  losing  my  noonday  lunch,  and  not  regaining 
my  i)arty  till,  tired  and  hungry,  I  reached  camp  at 
night.  Our  guide  had  taken  a  circnitons  ronte  to 
avoid  a  band  of  robbers  on  the  main  route  which  I 


62    A!kfON<}  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


bad  f(illit\vo(! !  Thiw  was  my  first  i>.\i  fiicnro  of  He- 
plianf  ri.liiijj;.  W'v  «  rosscd  rivers  when*  the  banks  were 
Bfeop,  iiinl  ilieri!  wjis  tin  ri-giiiar  liinUiuK-  I5«t  whether 
ascend iog  or  deRceoding  steep  filopeii,  whether  skirting 
strcaniH  nnd  wjili-rfiills,  nn<>  in;!-  trust  tlio  clopliant'H 
sagacity  aud  Kuix-footedm-ss.  The  view  wo  hud  fnim 
une  of  the  mountain  ridii^pH  seemed  incomparably  fine. 
The  Mt>  V'mg  wound  its  \v.  y  aioiiK  tlio  base  beneath 
us,  while  bcyorKi,  to  ri^hf  :ind  to  left,  rose  ranpe  Ikv 
yond  range,  with  au  oecasional  i)eak  towering  high 
above  the  rest.  But  that  was  tame  in  comparison 
Willi  itiany  mountain  views  enconntered  in  subaeqaent 
years. 

We  were  eight  days  in  reaching  Lakawn,'  which  we 
maiited  as  one  of  our  future  mission  stations.  On 
being  asked  whether  lie  would  welcome  a  mission 
there,  the  governor  replied,  "  if  the  Kiug  of  8iuiu  and 
the  Prince  of  Chiengmai  approve."  At  Lalcawn  we 
had  no  delay,  Mtopping  there  only  from  Fri<lay  till 
Monday  morninp.  Thenc  e  to  Lanlpun  we  found  sfilu  > 
or  resthoust's,  at  regular  intervals.  The  watershed 
between  tliew;  towns  was  the  highest  we  had  crossed. 
The  road  follows  the  valley  of  a  stream  to  n>  ir  the 
summit,  and  Ihen  follows  another  stream  down  un  the 
other  side.  The  gorge  was  in  places  so  narrow  that 
tlic  elephant  sa<ldle  scraped  the  mountain  wall  on  one 
side,  while  on  the  other  a  niisslcp  would  have  precip- 
itated us  far  d(t\vn  to  the  brook  bed  l)elow. 

'A  corruption  <if  Xakawn  (for  Sfiii.'-kiit  nif/nra,  cnpilal  tity), 
which  is  the  firsi  piu!  ..f  tlje  (.lliti.i!  iiiiiue  !he  place,  Nukawu 
Lanipang.  The  Post  OlHce  calls  it  riainpfing,  to  dialiuguish  it  from 
another  Nakawn  (likewise  Laka-.vn  in  ct'inniun  speech),  in  the  Malay 
Peuinsula — the  place  known  to  Europeans  as  Ligor.  Tlio  geuersl 
currency  of  this  sliort  naro«,  »nd  lu  regular  hw  in  ,•»!!  !!•,!■  niia-iionaiy 
Utsnton,  teem  to  justify  its  reteatioa  iu  this  narratiTe.— £o. 


i'i:<  iiAm  uI— Tui:  call     tue  noutii  j 


At  Liiiiiprin  ni.v  cnnipiiniuli  wan  not  well,  so  fi  (t 
1  aloue  cullt'd  on  the  authuritieii.  The  goveruur  hi.J 
called  the  princefi  tt^ther  to  learn  otir  errand.  Tb^ 
geemed  bewildered  when  told  tliat  we  had  no  };ov('rn- 
nient  buainetw,  nor  were  wi»  >ra<lctK — were  uu\y  teach- 
erw  of  reliRlo;-  When  the  |m..imm'  ofTloer  wo«  directed 
to  Kcnd  UM  oil  i]ui('kiy,  lie  iH'gaii  (o  muke  excuHCH  that 
it  wdiild  take  I  wo  or  Miiih*  da^H.  Turninn  Hharply 
upou  liiiii,  the  ^'oveiiior  asked,  "  I'ruya  Suuuui,  how 
many  eleiihantn  have  you?"  "Pour,"  was  the  re- 
sponse.  "  S<  c  that  they  >?el  olT  Id  iiU'iTow,"  was  the 
'■iliort  rcjily.  Ih-  ineelvly  wiihdicw.  There  was  evi- 
uently  uo  trilling  with  that  n<»veruor.  One  day  more 
brought  us  to  Chiengmai — to  the  end  of  what  aeemed 
tlien  a  very  lonfj  journey.  ,\s  we  m  ared  111"  city,  Mr, 
WilisoUH  elephant  took  fright  at  the  creaking  uoiae 
of  a  water-wh<'>el,  and  ran  away,  crashing  through 
bauihoo  fenci'ii  and  ^ranipUng  down  gardens.  For- 
tunately no  one  wa;  ' 

We  reached  the  oil  'uary  Tlh,  isiu,  ou  tbe 

forty -ninth  day  of  o  •  . .  •  ..  The  nephew  of  tbe 
Prince  had  lM>«'n  h-f  diiriuj;  the  Triuce's 

absence.  He  evidently  was  ju  doubt  how  to  '  'v>- 
us.  He  could  not  ijjnore  our  passport  and  lette.  iOu. 
Itaugkok.  On  tin-  «)llier  hand,  why  did  we  not  have 
a  letter  from  the  I'riiue?  Our  story  of  n  i  siiifr  him 
Ihroii^li  choosi,  the  canal  iii.  iead  of  the  lu'm  (■■■\v 
might  or  might  not  be  true  If  the  deputy  were  Uto 
liospitable.  his  Mrim c  iiii<jh';  blame  him.  So  he  cut 
the  knot,  and  went  oil  to  ids  tlelds.  We  saw  no  more 
of  him  till  he  came  in  to  see  us  -  ifely  otf. 

The  elder  daughter  of  tbe  Printe  bad  accompanied 
her  fatlior  to  Bangkok,  but  the  your^;'  danghter  was 
ui  huuic.   tshe  was  u  person  of  great  intiueuce,  and 


04     AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


was  hy  nature  hospitable.  Things  could  not  have 
been  better  planned  for  our  pui-pose.  The  princess 
remembered  me  and  my  wife  from  her  call  on  us  after 
our  wedding.  She  now  called  on  uh  in  person  with 
her  retinue;  after  that  everybody  else  was  free  to 
call.  It  is  not  onlikely  that  that  preyious  acquaint- 
ance redeemed  our  trip  from  being  a  failure.  Our 
salii  was  usually  erowdod  with  visitors.  We  had  an 
ideal  opportunity  of  seeiug  the  heart  of  the  people. 
Tliey  laclced  a  certain  external  refinement  seen  among 
the  Siamese;  hut  they  seemed  sincere  aud  more  re- 
ligious. Buddhism  had  not  become  so  much  a  mat- 
ter of  form.  Many  of  the  older  people  then  spent 
a  day  and  a  night,  or  even  two  days,  each  mouth  fast- 
ing in  the  monaster!*  Tiiere  was  ho})e  that  if  such 
people  saw  a  better  way,  they  would  accent  it.  One 
officer,  who  lived  just  behind  our  sfiia,  a  great  merit- 
maker,  was  a  coustant  visitor.  Yeai-s  afterward  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  him  to  the  communion 
of  the  church. 

From  every  point  of  view  the  tour  was  emin«itly 
successful.  Many  thou-  iuds  heard  the  (lospel  for  the 
first  time,  in  our  main  quest  we  were  more  than  suc- 
cessful. We  were  delighted  wita  the  country,  the 
cities,  the  people.  Every  place  we  came  to  we  meu- 
tally  took  possession  of  for  our  T.onl  aud  Master.  In 
Chieugmai  we  remained  only  ten  days;  but  one  day 
would  have  sufficed  to  convince  us.  I,  at  least,  left 
it  with  the  joyful  hope  of  its  becoming  tlie  field  of  my 
life-work. 

From  the  tirst  we  had  planned  to  return  by  the 
river  through  the  rapids.   But  the  prince  in  chai^ 

was  very  averse  to  our  goin^  It.v  thai  mute.  We 
blew  that  the  route  positively  made  uo  ditleit:uce  to 


PECHAIU  RI  -Tin:  CALL  OF  THE  NORTH  05 


him  personally.  Ho  had  only  to  give  the  word,  and 
either  elephants  or  boats  would  be  fortbcomiiig.  Was 
he  afraid  of  our  spying  out  the  road  into  the  comtry? 
At  last  we  were  obliged  to  insist  on  the  wording  of 
our  letter,  which  specially  mentioned  boats.  Then  he 
offered  us  one  so  small  that  he  probably  thon^t  we 
would  roTusc  it.  Hut  we  took  it;  and  our  captain 
afterwards  extlianfied  it  for  a  larger  one.  We  made 
a  swift  passage  through  the  famous  rapids,  and  reached 
Bangkok  on  January  30th,  1864. 

The  first  news  that  we  he.iid  on  our  arrival  was 
that  Mrs.  Mattoon  was  obliged  to  leave  at  once  for  the 
United  States,  and  that  Mr.  Wilson  was  to  take  his 
furlough  at  the  same  time.  This,  of  course,  ended  all 
plans  for  an.v  ininiediate  removal  to  Chiengmai.  We 
hastened  to  Pechaburl,  where  the  McFarlands  had 
been  alone  during  our  absence.  Three  years  were  to 
pass  b^ore  our  faces  were  again  turned  northward. 


V 


THE  CHARTER  OP  THE  I.AO  MISSION 

IN  the  nieanliiiie,  with  (\v«  chiiilrcn  added  uuto  us, 
we  were  become  a  family  much  more  difficult  to 
move.  We  liked  oiir  lionic  and  oiir  work.  At 
the  a;;e  of  ihirt.\  nine,  to  shike  out  into  a  new  work, 
in  a  lan^uajje  at  least  partly  new,  watt  a  matter  not 
to  be  lightly  undertaken.  Might  it  not  be  better  that 
Mr.  Wilson  slioiild  wnik  up  in  the  I'nited  States  an 
interest  in  the  new  miissiou,  should  liiniself  select  his 
associates  in  it,  and  that  I  should  give  up  my  claim 
to  that  place?  It  was  certain  that  three  families  could 
not  he  spared  for  Chien'^inai.  More  than  <ine  day  was 
speiif,  under  the  shade  of  a  great  tree  hehind  Wal  N«)i, 
in  thought  on  the  subject,  and  in  prayer  for  direc- 
tion. 

Finally  -  tliough  it  was  a  hard  thing  to  do-  I  wrote 
to  Mr.  Wilson,  then  in  the  I'nited  States,  suggesting 
the  plan  jn«t  stated.  Feeling  sure  that  it  would 
eonini"nd  itself  to  liini,  I  considered  the  door  to 
Chieugmai  as  prohahly  closed  to  me.  la  the  mean 
time  Mr.  Wilson  had  married  again;  and  on  the  eve 
of  his  n  inni  wrote  to  me  that  he  had  failed  to  get 
aniillicr  faiiiih  to  coino  nut  with  liiiii.  and  was  dis- 
eourage*!  about  the  Chiengniai  mission.  I'rohahly  the 
time  had  not  yet  come,  etc.,  etc.  I  was  delighted  to 
get  that  li'M.  r.  [|  <l('<  idfd  iiie  to  go  to  ( Miiciinmai, 
the  Lord  willing,  the  following  dry  season,  with  only 

68 


Tin:  ("iiakti:k  of  tin:  i.ao  .mission  r.7 


m.v  own  fiiinil.v.  if  need  be.  IM'.  Mattnou  and  Hr, 
House  wcit!  absent  on  fiuiougli.  Mr.  Wilson  and  I 
wootd  he  the  Henior  members  of  the  miH^ion.  The 
Hoard  had  alrcidv  piven  its  sanction.  Tlie  mission 
in  Bangkok  meanwhile  had  l»een  reiuforcud  by  the 
arrival  of  the  Georges  and  the  Cardens.  On  the  return 
of  llio8e  then  ali.scnt  on  liirlou^'li.  one  of  these  faniilies 
eonid  join  the  Mt  l"arlaii<!s  in  I'cchiiliuri,  and  vet  iliei-e 
would  be  four  families  in  IJangkok.  Such  a  combina- 
tion of  favourable  circumHtances  might  not  occur 
again. 

When  Mr.  Wilson  arrived  in  Hangkok  in  the  fall  of 
18<)K,  a  letter  wan  waiting  for  him,  asking  him  to 
visit  U8  in  Pecbaburi  to  talk  over  the  quetstion.  On  his 
arrivid  we  spcpl  one  Siinday  in  anxious  consultation. 
He  waH  stilt  eager  to  go  to  Chiengmai,  but  could  not 
go  that  year.  His  preference  would  be  that  we  should 
wait  another  year. — Hut  that  might  be  to  lose  the  op- 
portnnity.  So  next  morning,  leaving  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wils(m  to  visit  with  my  family,  I  hurried  over  to 
Bangkok.  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  The  Prince 
of  Cliiengniai  had  been  called  diiwn  on  sjiei  ial  bnsi- 
nesK,  and  was  soon  to  return.  The  whole  [dau  might 
depend  on  him— as,  in  fact,  it  did. 

It  was  after  dark  on  Tuesday  night  when  I  reached 
l>r.  Hnidlev's,  taking  tlieni  all  by  surprise.  1  made 
known  my  erraud.  Another  long  and  anxious  con- 
sultation followed.  I  knew  that  Dr.  Bradley's  great 
missionary  soul  would  not  Ik-  staggt  ied  by  auy  jK-T- 
Honal  considerations.  It  would  be  but  tlie  answer  to 
his  own  prayers  to  see  u  mission  planted  in  Chiengmai. 
In  his  heart  he  was  glad  that  it  was  to  be  planted 
by  one  of  bis  own  r.-niiily.  Earnest  prayer  was  utlVrcd 
that  night  at  the  family  altar  for  guidance  iu  the 


68     AM()N(5  THi:  SIAMKSE  AND  THE  I, An 


npffotiations  of  the  following  day,  and  for  a  blessing 
on  the  mission  that  was  to  he. 

On  Wednesday,  after  an  early  breakfast,  Dr.  Brad- 
ley iUTotnpanie«l  nio  to  our  mission.  M.v  (•t)llpapiips, 
McDonald,  George,  and  Carden,  were  easily  indiu-ed 
to  conseBt.  Mr.  McDonald  said  that  he  wonld  not  go 
himself;  but  if  I  were  willing  to  risk  my  family,  he 
wonld  not  oppose  the  schonio.  and  would  vote  to  have 
Mr.  Wilson  follow  me  the  next  year.  Thus  another 
rtstacle  was  removed. 

Tddng  Mr.  McDonald  and  Mr.  Oeorge  with  us.  we 
proceede<l  next  to  the  I'nitt'd  Slates  Consulate,  where 
Mr.  Ilood  readily  agreed  to  give  lii.s  otlicial  and  {K!r- 
sonal  aid.  The  two  greatest  obstacles  remained  yet: 
the  Siamese  governnu'nt  and — as  it  turned  out  in  ttie 
end — the  Lao  Prince  '  also.  The  Consul  wrote  im- 
mediately to  the  King,  through  our  former  Pechaburl 
friend,  who  had  recently  been  made  Foreign  Minister, 
a  formal  request  {or  permission  to  open  a  station  in 
Chieugmai.    It  was  Friday  evening  when  the  . -jily 

'The  L.W  ruler  was  a  feu;!.".!  "ii.s.sal  of  tlin  King  of  Hiam,  governing 
an  important  frontier  |m.i. incu,  iinil  (iniuleii,  wittiiu  that  province, 
some  of  the  powers  vvliidi  are  usually  thouglit  of  as  belonging  to 
sorereignty — notably  the  power  of  life  and  death  in  the  case  of  liis 
immediate  subjects.  His  title,  I'ru  C.'hao,  like  it.s  English  parallel, 
Lonl,  he  shared  with  the  deity  as  well  as  with  kings;  though  the 
Kings  of  Biun  claim  the  added  designation,  "Tu  Uiia,"  "at  the 
bMHl,"  at  "  Sovereign."  By  the  early  missioDBries,  however,  he  was 
i^^M^  ^led  "  King,"  a  term  which  to  ua  misrcpraaenU  his  rud 
Btetm,  md  wkidi  leads  to  much  confasion  both  of  personality  and 
of  fuDctiou.  Meantime  both  title  and  function  have  vanished  with 
the  feudal  order  of  which  they  were  a  part,  leaving  US  frofl  to  seek 
for  our  narrative  a  less  misleading  term.  Such  a  term  seems  to  be 
the  word  I'rince,  thus  defined  in  Murray's  Dictionary  («.  b.  II.  5); — 
"  The  ruirr  of  a  |iri  'cipalily  or  small  stale,  actually,  noiuinally,  or 
ortgiiially,  i-.  feuiiulory  o!  a  kin.L'  or  ernperor.'  The  capital  initial 
shi  'ild  .^ul':  e  fTi  (leiiil.;.  In  > iUl i iit^ lii-h  llje  I'rince  who  is  ruler  fnmi 
priitces  who  are  buch  merely  by  accident  of  birth.— .''.u. 


TIIK  CIIARTKK  OF  THi:  LAO  MISSION  09 


fame  that  the  deiisiou  did  not  rest  with  the  King. 
He  could  not  force  a  mission  upon  the  L3o  |)eoi)lc. 
Hut  the  Lao  Priuce  was  then  in  Bangkok.  If  he  gave 
his  t'onsent,  the  Siinncse  govcrniiient  would  give  theirs. 
He  suggested  that  we  have  an  audience  with  the 
Prince,  at  which  His  Majesty  would  have  an  officer  in 
atteudanoe  to  n  imrt  dim  th  to  him. 

So  on  Saturday-  morning  at  ten  o'clock  we  all  ap- 
peared at  the  landing  where  the  Lao  boats  were 
moored,  asking  for  an  audience  with  the  Prince.  We 
were  invited  to  await  liini  in  the  sala  at  tlie  river 
luudiug.  In  a  few  moments  Llis  Highness  came  up  in 
his  customary  informal  attire — a  phdnung  about  his 
Unuf,  no  jaiket,  a  scarf  thrown  loosely  over  his  slioul- 
dei^,  and  a  iiltle  cane  iu  his  hand.  Having  shaken 
hands  with  us,  he  seated  himself  iu  his  favourite  at- 
titude, dangling  his  right  leg  over  his  left  knee.  He 
asked  our  errand.  At  Mr.  Hood's  retjuest  Dr.  Brad- 
ley explained  our  desire  to  establish  a  mission  sta- 
tion in  Chieugmai,  and  our  hope  to  secure  his  ap- 
proval. The  I'rince  seemed  relieved  to  Hud  that  our 
errand  involvi-il  nothing  more  serious  than  that.  The 
mi.ssiou  stalitm  was  no  new  question  suddenly  sprung 
upon  him.  We  had  more  than  once  spoken  with  him 
about  it,  and  always  apparently  with  his  approbation. 
To  all  our  re«iuests  he  now  gave  ready  assent.  Yes, 
we  might  establish  ourselves  in  Chiengmai.  Land  was 
cheap;  we  need  not  even  buy  it.  Timber  was  cheap. 
Tlifrc  wonM  Itr.  of  course,  the  cost  of  cutting  and 
hauling  it;  but  not  much  more.  We  c«»uld  build  our 
houses  of  brick  or  of  wood,  as  we  pleased.  It  was  ex- 
plained, as  he  ali-eady  knew,  that  our  object  was  to 
tcai  li  religion,  to  cslahlisli  s(  liools.  and  to  care  for  the 
tiick     The  King's  secretary  took  down  the  replies  of 


70    AMONG  TUE  SIAMHSE  AND  THE  LAO 
the  rrinee  tc  our  questions.   Tl.e  Consul  expressed 
his  gratitude,  and  committed  my  fauiily  to  h>8  grac 
clnt   We  wire  to  follow  the  Prince  to  Chiengmai  as 
goon  as  possihle.  .  . 

S,Hl,  >vril.e  outward  s.euo  and  ^"-"^Z^^,;^^^* 
oflleial  birth  of  the  La.,  mission.    In   t«elf   t  was 
ludicrous  enough:  the  audience  rl.ainUr,   a  s.  a 
landing  under  tlu>  shad-nv  of  a  r.uddlns,  n.ouastery  , 
ousul  in  his  ollieia.  uniform;  the  Prmce  en 
aMillc;  our  little  Kroup  awaiting  the 
which  depended  the  royal  si^natur,.  ol  ^"-l^' 
Parau.cndr  .Mal.fl  Mou^kut  authonz.ng  the  estabUsh- 
,„,„t  of  a  Christian  .nission.   The  ^f?' 
1  was  myself  amazed  at  the  succesH  of  the  ^eets 
work.   On  the  part  both  of  t!..  Siamcs.  p.v.rnment 
and  <.f  tl.o  Lao  Prince,  it  was  an  act  of  ^'"''^^ 
to  be  exiK,-cted,  though  quite  in  keeping  with  the  lib- 
erality of  the  truly  great  king  who  opened 
to  civilization  and  1..  rinistianity.    And  the  Lao 
Prince,  with  all  his  faults,  had  s..me  m.ble  and  gener- 
ous traits  of  character.  . 

Later  in  the  day  1  called  alone  to  tell  the  Pr.nce 
that  as  soon  as  1  could  after  the  close  of  the  rainj 
aeason,  1  would  co.ne  with  my  family.  After  the  In- 
tense excitement  of  the  week,  1  spent  a  quiet  Sabba  h 
in  Dr.  IJradlev-s  family,  and  on  Monday  mornmg  could 
s.,v  as  did  Abraham's  servant,  "  Hinder  me  n«.t,  seeing 
the  L..rd  hath  prospered  me."  Taking  the  afternoon 
tide.  I  hastened  home  t..  report  H."  su.  cess  ..t  my  <r>;.. 
to  close  mv  work  in  IVcl.at.un.  and  t..  luake  prepara- 
tion for  a"  new  station,  which  was  soon  to  be  a  new 

mission.  .    xi,.  \i . 

The  work  in  hand  was  easily  liunod  over  to  Mi  M.^ 
Farland,  an  earnest  and  successful  worker,  who  had 


THE  ClIAirrKK  OF  THi:  l..\(>  MISSION  71 


iK'Cdino  siiocinlly  giflcd  in  llu'  Siaiuese  lun;>;uago.  The 
rresbytery  was  to  meet  in  IJangkiik  in  November.  The 
last  busy  weeks  passed  rapidly  away.  At  their  end  we 
bade  fjood-bye  to  our  lutWM'  and  fi-'ciids  in  lV'(hahun. 

Friends  in  Bangisok  gave  iiss  tliuii-  hearty  a.sHiMtance. 
The  Ladies'  Sewing  Society  made  a  Hl)eral  contribo- 
tion  to  tlie  new  mlHsion.  Dr.  .lames  Campbell  sup- 
plied lis  with  nMMiicines  sind  a  ImioU  of  instrnetions  how 
to  use  them.  The  (lermau  ('(rnsul  gave  us  a  I'russiun 
rifle  for  oar  personal  protection.  All  our  missionary 
friends  added  their  jiood  wishes  and  Mieir  prayers. 

Wc  had  great  ditUculty  in  Hecuriug  suitable  boats 
and  crews  for  the  journey.  On  January  8d,  18G7,  we 
embarked,  leaving  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  to  follow  as 
the  next  year.  Mr.  (ie<tr^;e  arciniijiiinied  ns  as  far 
a»  Kaht>ng.  The  trip  is  always  a  slow  (me,  but  wc  en- 
joyed it.  My  rifle  was  useful  in  securing  pelicans 
and  otlier  larji^e  birds  for  food.  Once  I  fired  into  a 
larj^e  llock  of  pelicans  on  tiie  river  and  killed  three 
with  a  siugle  shot.  I'Msh  everywhere  abounded.  My 
shotgun  furnished  pigeons  and  other  small  game.  The 
trip  jilTorded  line  opiiortunity  for  evanfjelistic  work. 
Nothir-j^  of  the  sort  had  ever  been  done  there  save  the 
little  which  Mr.  Wilson  and  I  had  attempted  on  our 
earlier  trip. 

Kill: 'n«;  was  reached  in  four  weeks.  There  we  dis- 
missetl  the  bouts  that  had  brought  us  from  ISaugkok, 
and  procured,  instead,  two  lai^  ones  of  the  sort  used 
in  upcouiitry  travel.  We  should  have  done  better 
with  three  of  smaller  size.  We  spent  nearly  a  month 
in  toiling  up  the  thirty-two  rapids.  At  one  of  them 
we  were  delayed  from  Friday  noon  till  Tuesday  after- 
nottn.  At  anntlier,  to  avoid  llic  furious  current  of 
the  main  river,  we  attempted  u  suiull  channel  at  one 


73    AMONG  THK  KIAMKHE  AND  TIIF.  I.AO 


side.  As  we  kIowIv  workf<l  our  wsw  ;tl.<n^.  tlh  ;i»or 
in  our  clumuel  bwamc  shiil  tiwur  ami  Nhallower,  till  we 
bad  to  renort  to  a  Hystpin  of  eztemporixed  locks.  A 
ti  triponuy  dam  was  Imilt  iR'hind  the  I"»al.  The  re- 
HiiHiiiK  sliplit  rist  of  uaUT  would  enable  m  to  drag 
the  Iwtut  a  little  furlher,  lilt  again  it  waa  atranded— 
wb«i  the  |>roce«a  would  have  to  be  repeated.  After 
two  days  .  '  hard  work  at  tliis.  .mr  Itoatnicn  fjavc  up 
in  despair.  A  Obiengmai  prime  on  liift  way  to  Hang 
kok  found  ua  In  this  extremity,  and  gave  w  an  order 
to  aecure  help  at  ilic  inaicst  villiif,'i'.  To  mcikI  (he 
leHer  up  and  liriii;;  ilif  lioiilnuii  down  would  re- 
quire nearly  a  wtrk.    I'.iu  ilu-re  was  utdliing  else  to  do. 

My  rifle  helped  me  aoniewbat  to  while  away  the  time 
of  this  idle  waiting.  We  eonld  hear  tigers  a!  us 
every  night.  I  used  to  skirt  about  among  the  moun- 
tain ridges  an»l  brooks,  half  hoping  to  shoot  one  of 
tbem.  Since  my  rifle  was  not  a  repealer,  it  was  no 
doubt  best  that  my  aiubition  was  not  frralilit'd.  Once, 
taking  a  Siamese  lad  with  me,  1  strayed  further  and 
returned  later  than  usual.  It  was  nearly  dark  when 
we  got  batk  to  the  boats,  and  supper  was  waiting. 
Hefore  we  had  flnisluHl  our  meal,  the  boatnien  euught 
sight  of  the  glowin};  eyes  of  a  tiger  that  had  followed 
our  trail  to  the  further  bank  of  the  river,  whence  we 
had  I  rossed  to  our  boat. 

(»ne  of  the  boat  raptains  professed  to  be  able  to  eall 
up  either  deer  or  tip  r,  if  one  were  within  bearing.  Ity 
doubling  a  leaf  together,  and  with  tlnimb  and  tlnger 
on  either  side  hold  iig  (he  two  edi,'es  (ense  betwirn  his 
lips  while  he  blew,  he  would  prodiue  a  sound  so  nearly 
resembling  the  cry  of  a  yonng  goat  or  deer,  that  a  doe 
within  reach  of  the  call,  he  rluimed,  would  run  to  tli  ■ 
rescue  of  her  young,  or  a  tiger,  hearing  it,  would  run 


THE  CHARTER  OF  THE  LAO  MISSION  78 


to  Mcnre  the  prey.  The  two  captains  and  I  one  day 
went  up  on  a  ridge,  ant!,  ttelecting  an  oiien  triangular 
Kpjuf,  pdsti'd  om-selvt's  l>mk  lo  Imck,  faciog  in  tlireo 
dirt'ctiouH,  with  uur  giiUH  iu  rcudiueMM.  The  cuptuiu 
had  Rounded  h\n  call  only  two  or  three  times,  when 
siuldfiily  ti  iiii-K«>  «!tM'r  niKlicd  ftiriouslv  up  fruiu  the 
din'rliuu  (I'Wiiid  wliich  i>in>  of  llii-  riiptaiiiH  wiiH  fiicirif^. 
A  lulk'U  lun  was  l.viiiK  alMHil  twt'Ul.v  pal^'«  oil"  »»u  the 
edge  of  onr  open  apace.  The  excited  animal  stopped 
behind  it,  his  Iowit  parts  (  (Hiccali  d,  hut  with  bn»k, 
Hhoulder,  net-k,  uud  head  tuWy  exitused.  Our  captain 
tired  away,  bnt  was  so  excited  that  he  would  hare 
niiMW'd  an  clcpliaut.  IliH  bullet  entered  tlie  lug  some 
si\  im  lu's  hclow  the  lop.  In  an  itislaut  the  deer  was 
gone.  We  f««uud  not  far  otf  the  sput  where  evidently 
a  yuung  deer  had  been  devoured  by  a  tiger.  We  tried 
the  experiment  a  number  of  times  later,  bnt  witb  no 
BUi-eess. 

After  we  bad  waited  two  days  and  nt^ts  fur  help 
from  the  village  above,  on  the  third  ni^t  tlie  spirits 

caine  to  (»nr  rescue.  Kitlier  with  their  cars  ur  in 
their  imugiuatiouH,  our  crew  heard  >i range  nuiHCs  iu 
the  rocks  and  trees  about  them,  which  they  interpreted 
as  a  waraing  from  the  Bpirits  to  be  goue.  Next  morn- 
ing, after  consnlfation  ttif^etlitT,  they  uiade  another 
desperate  elTort,  and  got  the  boats  olT.  It  was  still 
several  days  before  we  met  the  men  that  came  down 
in  response  to  the  prince's  order.  Hut  smm-  of  the 
worst  rapids  were  yet  before  us.  We  could  hardly 
have  got  through  without  their  aid. 

The  efforts  of  a  single  crew,  it  must  be  remembered, 
an'  intt'rly  inadequate  to  brinjj  a  boat  up  through 
any  of  these  rapids.  Only  by  coiubiniug  two  or  three 
crews  can  the  boats  be  brought  up  one  by  one.  Some 


74    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

of  the  men  are  on  the  bank,  tugging  at  the  tow-rope 
wliile  tlioy  clniiilHT  over  rocks  and  stnif^ple  through 
bushes.  Some  are  on  board,  bendiug  (o  their  jtoles. 
Others  are  up  to  their  waists  in  the  rushing  water,  hy 
main  force  fending  off  the  boat  from  being  dashed 
against  tlie  rocks.  On  (me  occasion  I  nivself  liad  made 
the  passage  in  tlie  first  boat,  which  then  was  left 
moored  in  quieter  waters.  The  crew  went  back  to 
bring  up  tlie  seccind  boat,  in  which  were  my  wife  and 
children.  With  anxious  eyes  I  was  watching  the 
struggle;  when,  suddenly,  in  the  fiercest  rush  of  the 
current,  the  men  lost  control  of  her.  Boat  and 
passengers  were  drifting  with  full  force  straight 
against  a  wall  of  solid  rock  on  the  ojiposKe  bank.  It 
seemed  as  if  nothing  could  save  them.  Uut  one  of  the 
fleetest  boatmen,  with  rope  in  hand,  swam  to  a  rock 
in  midstrenni.  and  took  a  turn  of  the  rojK!  about  it, 
just  in  time  to  prevent  what  would  have  been  a 
tragedy. 

At  night,  about  camp  fires  on  the  river  bank,  we  were 
regaled  by  the  boatmen  with  legends  of  the  country 
through  w  hii  h  we  were  passing.  One  of  these  legend's 
concerned  the  lofty  mountain  which  rises  above  the 
rajiid  called  Keng  Soi,  where  we  were  camped.  The 
story  was  that  on  its  summit  there  had  l>een  in  ancient 
times  a  city  of  s€ti8  (millionaires),  who  paid  a  gold 
fuuiif/  (two  dollars)  a  bucket  for  all  the  water  brought 
up  for  tlieii'  use.  It  was  said  that  remains  of  their 
city,  and  particularly  an  aged  cocoanut  tree,  were  still 
to  be  seen  on  the  summit. 

Since  it  would  take  our  boatmen  at  least  two  days 
to  surmount  that  rajiid,  1  resolved  to  attempt  the 
ascent,  and  either  verity  or  explode  the  story.  Start- 
ing at  early  dawn  with  my  young  Siamese,  zigzagging 


THE  CHARTEB  OP  THE  LAO  MISSION  75 

back  and  forth  on  the  slope  all  that  long  forenoon,  I 
struggled  upward— often  despairing  of  success,  but 
ashamed  to  turn  back.  At  last  we  stood  on  the  top, 
but  it  was  noon  or  later.  We  spent  two  or  three  hours 
in  search  of  the  cocoannt  tree  or  other  evidence  of 
human  settlement,  but  all  in  vain.  I  was  satisfied 
that  we  were  the  first  of  human  kind  that  had  ever  set 
foot  on  that  lofty  summit.  We  had  brought  lunch- 
but  no  water!  Most  willingly  would  we  have  given  a 
silver  fHmi<i  for  a  draught. 

The  legend  of  the  rapids  themselves  was  one  of  the 
most  interesting.  At  the  edge  of  the  plain  above  the 
rapids  there  is  pointed  out  a  wall  of  rock  dropping 
fully  a  hundred  feet  sheer  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
story  goes  that  in  ancient  times  a  youth  made  love  to 
the  Prince's  daughter.  The  course  of  true  love  did 
not  run  smooth;  the  father  forbade  the  suit  The  lov- 
ers resolved  to  make  tlieir  escape.  The  young  man 
mounted  his  steed  with  his  bride  behind  him,  and 
together  they  fled.  But  soon  the  enraged  father  was 
in  hot  pursuit.  They  reached  the  riverbrink  at  the 
top  of  the  precipice,  with  the  father  in  plain  sight  be- 
hind them.  But  there  the  lover's  bean  failed  him. 
He  could  not  take  that  leap.  The  maidoi  then  begged 
to  exchange  places  with  her  lover.  She  mounted  in 
front;  tied  her  scarf  over  her  eyes;  put  spurs  to  the 
horse;  and  took  the  fatal  leap.  To  this  day  the  vari- 
ous rapids  are  mostly  named  from  various  portions  of 
the  equipage  which  are  supposed  to  have  drifted  down 
the  stream  and  lodged  upon  the  rocks. 

Lao  witchcraft  was  another  favourite  theme  of  our 
Rahcng  boatmen.  They  were  very  much  afraid  of  the 
magical  powers  of  wizards;  and  evidently  believed 
that  the  wizards  could  readily  despatch  any  who  of- 


76    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

fended  them.  They  could  insert  a  mass  of  rawhide 
into  one's  stomach,  which  would  produce  death,  and 
which  could  not  oe  consumed  by  fire  when  the  body  was 
cremated.  They  could  make  themselves  invisible  and 
invulnerable.  No  sword  could  penetrate  their  flesh, 
and  u  bullet  fired  at  them  would  drop  harmless  from 
the  mouth  of  the  gun. 

But  we  have  lingered  too  long  among  the  rapids. 
Some  distance  above  the  last  one  the  mountains  on 
either  side  recede  from  i\w  river,  and  enclose  the  great 
plain  of  Chiengmai  and  Lampuu.  Both  passengers 
and  boatmen  draw  a  long  breath  of  relief  when  it 
opens  out.  The  glorious  sun  ag&.o  shines  all  day. 
The  feathery  plumes  of  the  graceful  bamboo  clumps 
are  a  delight  to  the  eye,  and  give  variety  to  the  other- 
wise tame  scenery.  But  the  distant  mountains  are 
always  in  sight. 

The  season  was  advancing.  The  further  we  went, 
the  shallower  grew  the  stream.  Long  before  we 
reached  Chiengmai,  we  had  to  use  canoes  to  lighten 
our  boats;  but  presently  a  seasonable  rise  in  the  river 
came  to  our  aid.  On  Saturday  evening,  April  1st, 
1867,  we  moored  our  boats  beside  a  mighty  banyan 
tree,  whose  spreading  arras  shaded  a  space  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  wide.  It  stands  opposite  the  large 
island  which  forty  years  later  the  government  turned 
over  to  Dr.  McKean  of  our  mission  for  a  leper  asylum. 
Stepping  out  a  few  paces  from  under  its  shade,  one 
could  see  across  the  fields  the  pagoda  spires  of  Chieng- 
mai. There,  prayerfully  and  anxiously,  we  sp^t  the 
thirteenth  and  last  Sunday  of  our  long  journey,  not 
knowing  what  the  future  might  have  in  store  for  us. 


GHIENOMAI 

ON  Monday  morning,  April  3d,  1867,  we  reached 
the  city.  We  had  looked  forward  to  the  ar- 
rival  as  a  welcome  rest  after  the  long  confine- 
ment of  our  journey  in  the  boat.  But  it  was  only  the 
beginning  of  troubles.  We  were  not  coming  to  an 
established  station  with  houses  and  comforts  pre- 
pared by  predecessors.  The  Prince  was  off  on  a  mili- 
tary exi)edition,  not  to  be  back  for  over  a  month. 
Till  he  came,  nothing  could  be  done.  We  could  not 
secure  a  honse  to  shelter  ns,  for  there  was  none  to  be 
had.  Just  outside  the  eastern  gat^  of  the  city,  how- 
ever, a  sala  for  public  use  had  recently  been  built  by 
an  officer  from  Raheng,  to  "  make  merit,"  according  to 
Buddhist  custom.  He  had  still  a  quasi  claim  apon  it, 
and,  with  the  consent  of  the  Prince's  representative, 
he  offered  it  to  us.  It  was  well  built,  with  tile  roof  and 
teak  floor,  was  enclosed  on  three  sides,  and  opened 
in  front  on  a  six-foot  veranda.  In  that  one  room,  some 
twelve  feet  by  twenty,  all  our  belongings  were  stored. 
It  served  for  bedroom,  parlour,  dining-room,  and  study. 
In  it  tables,  chairs,  bedstead,  organ,  boxes,  and  trunks 
were  all  piled  one  upon  another.  A  bamboo  kitchen 
and  a  bathroom  were  presently  extemporized  in  the 
yard.   That  was  our  home  for  more  than  a  year. 

The  news  of  the  arrival  of  white  foreigners  soon 
spread  far  and  wide.  It  was  not  known  how  long  they 


78    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


would  remain;  and  tlie  oagi'iuess  ol  all  classes  to  get 
sight  of  them  before  they  should  be  gone  was  ab- 
solutely huli<  r()us,  even  when  most  annoying.  "  There 
is  a  white  woman  and  children!  We  must  go  and  see 
them."  Our  visitors  claimed  all  the  immunities  of 
backwoodsmen  who  know  no  better.  In  eti(|uette  and 
manners  they  well  deser.ed  that  name.  Within  a  fcv 
feet  of  the  sala  was  a  rickety  plank-walk  leading  ov 
marshy  ground  to  the  city.  Everybody  had  to  p  . 
that  way,  and  everybody  must  stop.  When  the  ve- 
randa was  filled,  they  would  crowd  un  on  the  f^round 
in  front  as  long  as  they  could  get  sight  of  anybody 
or  anything.  If  to-day  the  crowd  prevented  a  good 
view,  they  would  >  all  to-morrow.  The  favourite  lime 
of  all  was,  of  course,  our  meal-time,  to  see  how  and 
what  the  foreigners  ate.  Almost  never  in  the  daytime 
could  we  sit  down  to  a  quiet  meal  without  lookers-on. 
It  was  not  uncommon  for  our  visitors  to  pick  up  a 
knife  or  a  fork  or  even  the  bread,  and  ask  what  that 
was.  "  They  don't  sit  on  the  floor  to  eat,  nor  use  their 
fingers,  as  we  do !  " 

This,  however,  is  only  one  side  of  the  picture.  In 
one  sense  we  were  partly  to  blame  for  our  discom- 
fort. We  could  soon  have  dispersed  the  crowd  by 
giving  them  to  understand  tiiat  tlioir  presence  was  not 
wanted.  But  we  ourselves  were  on  trial.  If  we  had 
got  the  name  of  being  ill-natured  or  ungracious,  they 
would  have  left  us,  probably  never  to  return.  No. 
T'  is  was  what  we  were  there  for.  It  gave  us  con- 
stant opportunities  from  daylight  till  dark  to  pro- 
claim the  Gospel  message.  The  first  and  commonest 
question,  who  we  were  and  what  was  our  errand, 
brought  us  at  once  to  the  point.  We  were  roiiie  with 
messages  of  mercy  and  with  offer  of  eternal  life  from 


CHIENOMAI 


79 


Air  great  (Jod  and  Saviour.  We  were  come  wuh  a 
revelation  of  onr  Heavenly  Father  to  His  wandering 
and  lost  rliildren.  While  the  mass  of  our  visitors 
came  from  curiosity,  some  came  to  learn;  and  many 
who  came  from  curiosity  went  away  pondering  whether 
these  things  were  so.  Friendships  also  were  formed 
wliicii  stood  us  in  good  stead  afterwards  when  we 
sorely  needed  friends.  During  our  time  of  persecu- 
tion these  persons  would  come  in  by  stealth  to  speak 
a  word  of  comfort,  when  tlioy  dared  not  do  so  openly. 

As  the  nnnoyance  of  those  days  fell  most  heavily 
on  the  nei\es  (»f  my  wife,  it  was  a  comfort  to  learn 
afterwards  that  possibly  the  very  first  convert  heard 
the  Gospel  message  first  from  her  lips,  while  she  was 
addressing  a  crowd  of  visitors  very  soon  after  our  ar- 
rival. Reference  will  be  made  to  him  later,  but  it 
may  be  said  here  that  from  the  day  when  he  first  heard 
the  news,  he  never  again  worshipped  an  idol. 

Whatever  was  their  object  in  coming  to  see  us,  we 
soon  gave  every  cr»>wd,  and  nearly  every  risitor,  to 
understand  what  vs  had  come  for.  We  had  come  as 
teachers — prima:  i ,  ^chers  of  a  way  of  salvation 
for  sinners.   A-"  jver  addi-essed  a  crowd  of 

thoughtful  men  or  .ara  who  did  not  readily  confess 
that  they  were  su.rii  n ,  and  needed  a  saviour  from  sin. 
Hut  we  were  not  merely  teachers  of  religion,  though 
primarily  such.  We  could  often,  if  not  usually,  better 
teach  religion — or,  at  least,  could  better  lead  up  to  it — 
by  teaching  geography  or  astronomy.  A  little  globe 
that  1  had  brought  along  was  often  my  text. 

I  presume  that  most  Christian  people  in  America 
have  a  very  crude  idea  of  the  method  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  often,  or.  perhai)s,  generally,  used  by  mission- 
aries, particularly  in  new  titlds.    If  they  think  that 


80    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LlO 


the  bell  is  rang,  that  the  people  amemble  in  orderly 
fashion,  aud  take  their  seats,  that  a  liynin  is  sung, 
prayer  offered,  the  Scripture  read,  a  sermon  delivered, 
and  the  congregation  dismisseu  with  the  doxology  and 
benediction,— they  are  very  mach  mistaken.  All  that 
comes  in  time.  We  have  lived  to  see  it  come  in  this 
land— thanks  to  God's  blessing  upon  work  much  more 
desultory  than  that.  Long  after  the  time  we  are  now 
speaking  of,  one  could  talk  of  religion  to  the  people  by 
the  hour,  or  even  by  the  daj",  one  might  sing  hymns, 
might  solemnly  utter  prayer,  in  response  to  inquiry  as 
to  how  we  worshipped — and  they  would  listen  respect- 
fully and  with  interest.  Hut  if  public  worship  had 
been  announced,  and  these  same  people  had  been  in- 
vited to  remain,  every  soul  would  have  fled  away  for 
fear  of  being  caught  in  some  trap  and  made  Christians 
without  their  consent,  or  for  fear  of  boingf  made  to 
suffer  the  consequences  of  being  reputed  Christians  be- 
fore they  were  ready  to  take  that  step.  Forty  years 
later  than  the  time  we  are  now  sfieaking  of,  I  have 
seen  people  who  were  standing  about  the  church  door 
and  looking  in,  driven  quite  away  by  the  mere  in- 
vitation to  come  in  and  be  seated. 

In  one  sense  our  work  during  the  first  year  was  vc-ry 
desultory.  I  had  always  to  shape  my  instruction  to 
the  individuals  before  me.  It  would  often  be  in  an- 
swer to  questions  as  to  where  was  our  country ;  in  what 
direction;  how  one  would  travel  to  get  there;  could 
one  go  there  on  foot;  and  so  on.  Or  the  question 
might  be  as  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  our  na- 
tion; or  it  miglit  be  directly  on  religion  itself.  But 
as  all  roads  lead  to  Home,  so  all  subjects  may  be  turned 
to  Christ,  His  cross,  and  His  salvation. 

Of  the  friends  found  in  those  early  days  I  must 


CFIKN(JMAI 


81 


mentioQ  two.  One  was  Princess  Bua  Kara,  the  mother 
of  the  late  and  last  Lfio  Prince,  Chao  Intanon.  At 

our  first  acquaintance,  kIio  formed  for  vf  a  warm 
friendship  that  lasted  till  her  death.    Nor  could  I  over 
discover  any  other  groun»'  for  her  friendship  than  the 
fact  that  we  were  religious  teachers.  She  was  herself 
a  devout  Ruddhisf,  ami  continued  to  (he  last  her  of- 
ferings in  the  monasteries.   I  believe  that  the  Gospel 
plan  of  salTation  struck  a  chord  in  her  heart  which 
her  own  religion  never  did.  From  Buddha  she  got  no 
assurance  of  pardon.    The  ass-  ranee  that  pardon  is 
possible  in  itself  seemed  to  give  her  hope,  though  by 
what  process  a  logical  mind  could  hardly  see,  so  long 
as  she  held  on  to  a  system  which,  as  she  confessed, 
did  not  and  could  not  give  pardon.    She  was  always 
pleased  to  hear  the  story  of  the  incarnation,  the  birth, 
life,  and  miracles  of  Christ.  She  was  deeply  touched 
by  the  recital  of  His  sufferings,  persecutions,  and  death. 
Illustrations  of  the  substitutionary  eflBcaey  of  His  suf- 
ferings she  readily  understood.   She  acknowledged  her 
god  to  be  a  man  who,  by  the  well-nigh  endless  road  to 
nirvana,  had  ceased  to  suffer  by  ceasing  to  exist.  The 
only  claim  he  had  to  warrant  his  pointing  oat  the  way 
to  others  was  the  fact  that  he  had  passed  over  it  him- 
self.   There  was  one  ground,  however,  on  which  she 
felt  that  she  might  claim  the  comfort  both  of  the 
doctrines  which  she  still  held  and  of  ours,  too.  A 
favourite  theory  of  hers — and  of  many  others — was 
that,  after  all,  we  worship  the  same  God  under  dif- 
ferent names.   She  called  hers  Buddha,  and  we  call 
ours  Jehovah-Jesus. 

She  had  by  nature  a  woman's  tender  heart.  Baiev- 
olence  had  doubtless  been  developed  in  her  by  her  re- 
ligion, till  it  bad  become  a  second  nature.   The  gifts 


82    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


■he  loved  to  make  were  abo  a  means  of  lading  up  a 
atore  of  merit  for  the  future.   She  was  moat  liberal  in 

Bending  uh  tokens  of  remembrance.  These  were  not 
of  inujh  value.  A  quart  of  wliite  rice,  a  few  oruugen, 
cocvmbera,  or  cocoannta  on  a  Bilver  tray,  were  ao  cus- 
tomary a  Bight  that,  if  ever  ud>-  ien^tli  uf  time  elapsed 
without  tliera,  we  wondered  if  llie  I'riuccNH  were  ill. 
And,  ou  the  other  hand,  if  for  any  cause  my  calls  were 
far  apart,  riie  wonld  be  sore  to  send  to  enqnire  if  I 
were  ill.  The  "  cnj»  of  cold  wafer"  w!  eh  slie  thus  so 
often  pressed  to  uur  lipH,  1  am  Mure,  was  given  fur  the 
Maater'a  aake. 

Another  remarlcable  friendship  formed  during  that 
first  year  was  that  of  a  Huddliist  monk,  abltot  of  (he 
UmOng  monastery.  An  in  the  other  case,  there  was  no 
favonr  to  ask,  no  axe  to  grind.  He  never  made  a  re- 
quest for  anything,  unless  it  were  for  a  hook.  lUit  the 
little  novice  who  attended  him  almost  always  brought 
a  cocoanut  or  some  other  small  [iresent  for  us.  Very 
rarly  in  our  acqnaintance  he  came  to  see  that  the  ani- 
verse  could  not  be  self  existent,  as  Huddhism  teaches. 
On  his  deeply  religious  nature  the  sense  uf  sin  weighed 
heavily.  He  was  well  rersed  in  the  Buddhist  scrip- 
tures, and  knew  that  there  was  no  place  for  pardon  in 
all  that  sjstem.  He  understood  the  plan  of  salvation 
offered  to  men  through  the  intinite  merit  of  Jesus 
Chriat.  At  times  he  wonld  argue  that  it  was  impoa- 
aible.  Pui  the  (hou^'ht  that,  after  all,  it  might  be 
possible,  afforded  him  a  gleam  of  hope  that  he  saw 
nowhere  else;  and  he  was  nut  willing  to  renounce  it 
altogether. 

During  the  dark  months  that  followed  the  martyr- 
dom of  our  nati-^e  Christians,  when  many  who  were 
true  friends  deemed  it  unwise  to  let  their  symi<athy 


•A 


Q 
O 

w 

X 
H 

b. 

O 

u 
.J 
a. 
«^ 
u 
H 


CHIENGMAI 


83 


be  known,  the  good  abbot  visited  us  regularly,  as,  in- 
deed, he  continued  to  do  as  long  as  he  lived.  At  times 
1  had  strong  hopes  that  he  would  leave  the  priesthood. 
But  he  never  could  quite  see  his  way  to  do  that, 
though  he  niainlained  that  he  never  ceased  to  worship 
Jesus.  The  only  likeness,  plasl  that  I  have  of  his  dear 
old  face  is  a  photograph  taiien  alter  death,  as  his  body 
lay  ready  for  cremation.  Unto  whom,  if  not  unto  such 
true  friends  of  His  as  these,  was  it  said,  "  I  was  a 
hungered,  and  ye  gave  Me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  Me  drink;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  Me. — 
Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least 
of  these  My  brethr^,  ye  have  done  it  unto  Me  "? 


VII 


PIONEER  WORK 
HE  military  expedition  in  whicli  the  Prince  wag 


engaged  detained  him  in  the  field  until  some 


time  in  May.  It  was  one  of  many  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  "apture  a  notorious  Xgio  cliieftain  who, 
turning  outlaw  and  robber,  had  gathered  about  him  a 
band  of  desperadoes,  witli  whom  he  sallied  forth  from 
his  mountain  fastness,  raiding  innocent  villages  and 
carrying  oflf  the  plunder  to  his  stronghold,  before  any 
force  could  be  gathered  to  withstand  or  to  pursue  him. 
In  this  way  he  kept  the  whole  country  in  constant 
alarm  during  the  earlier  years  of  our  stay  in  Chieng- 
mai.  What  made  matters  worse  was  the  fact — ^as  the 
Lao  firmly  believed — that  he  had  a  charmed  life,  that 
he  could  render  himself  invisible,  and  that  no  weapon 
could  penetrate  his  flesh.  Had  not  the  stockade 
within  which  he  had  taken  shelter  been  completely  sur- 
rounded one  night  by  a  cordon  of  armed  men,  and  at 
dawn,  when  he  was  to  have  been  captured,  he  was  no- 
where to  be  found?  Such  was  the  man  of  whom  we 
shall  hear  more  further  on. 

At  the  Lao  New  Year  it  is  customary  for  all  persons 
of  princely  rank,  all  oflicers  and  people  of  influence,  to 
present  their  compliments  to  the  Prince  in  person,  and 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremony  of  "  Dam  Hua,"  by  way 
of  wishing  him  a  Happy  New  Year.  Because  of  the 
Prince's  absence  in  the  field,  this  ceremony  could  not 
be  observed  at  the  regular  time;  but  it  was  none  the 


84 


PIONEER  WORK  85 

less  brilliantly  carried  out  a  few  <1a.vs  after  his  return. 
The  name,  Dam  llua,  means  "  bathing  the  head  "  or 
"  head-bath,"  and  it  is  really  a  ceremonial  bathing  or 
baptism  of  the  Prince's  head  with  water  poured  upon 
it,  first  by  princes  and  oUii  ials  in  the  order  of  their 
rank,  and  so  on  down  to  his  humblest  subjects. 

The  first  and  more  exclusive  part  of  the  ceremony 
took  place  in  the  palace,  where  I  also  was  privileged 
to  offer  my  New  Year's  greetings  with  the  rest.  The 
great  reception-hall  was  crowded  with  the  Prince's 
family  and  with  officials  of  all  degrees.  The  air  was 
heavy  with  the  fragrance  of  flowers  which  loaded  every 
table  and  stand.  All  were  in  readiness  with  their  sil- 
ver vessels  filled  with  water,  awaiting  His  Highness'  ap- 
pearance. At  length  an  officer  with  a  long  silver- 
handled  spear  announced  his  coming.  The  whole  com- 
pany received  him  >ith  lowest  prostration  after  the 
old  time  fashion.  Seeing  me  standing,  he  sent  for  a 
chair,  saying  that  the  ceremony  was  long,  and  I 
would  be  tii-ed.  The  Court  Orator,  or  Scribe,  then 
read  a  long  address  of  welcome  to  the  Prince  on  his 
return  from  his  brilliant  expedition,  with  high-sonnd- 
ing  compliments  on  its  success.  Then  there  was  a  long 
invocation  of  all  the  powers  above  or  beneath,  real  or 
imaginary,  not  to  molest,  but  instead  to  protect,  guide, 
and  bless  His  Highness'  jierson,  kingdom,  and  people, 
with  corresponding  curses  invokwl  on  all  his  enemies 
and  theirs.  Then  came  the  ceremonial  bath,  admin- 
istered first  by  his  own  family,  his  relatives,  and  high 
officials— he  standing  while  vase  after  vase  of  water 
was  poured  <m  his  head,  drenching  him  completely 
and  flooding  all  the  floor.  It  is  a  ceremony  not  at  all 
un|)leasant  in  a  hot  climate,  however  unendnrable  it 
might  be  in  colder  regions. 


86    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


1  liis  was  the  lifijiiininp.  According  to  iimiu'inorial 
custom,  a  booth  was  prepared  on  a  sand-bar  in  the 
river.  To  this,  after  the  ceremony  in  the  palace,  the 
Prince  went  in  full  state,  riding  on  an  elephant  richly 
caparisoned  with  ti'ai)pin<is  of  solid  jrohl,  to  recpivc  a 
like  bath  at  the  hands  of  his  loyal  subjects — beginning, 
as  before,  with  some  high  nobles,  and  then  passing  on 
to  the  common  people,  who  might  all  take  part  in  this 
closinj;  scene  of  the  strange  ceremony. 

I  was  not  in  the  concourse  at  the  river,  but  watched 
the  procession  from  our  saiH,  the  Prince  having  said  to 
me  that  he  would  call  on  his  return.  This  he  did, 
making  us  a  nice  little  visit,  taking  a  cup  of  tea,  and 
listening  to  the  playing  of  some  selections  on  the  organ. 
He  asked  if  I  had  selected  a  place  for  a  permanent 
station,  and  sngfjested  one  or  two  himself.  But  I  was 
in  no  hurry,  preferring  to  wait  for  the  judgment  of 
Mr.  Wilson  on  his  arrival.  Meanw'  ile  I  was  assared 
that  I  might  remain  in  the  salii,  and  might  put  up  a 
temporary  house  to  receive  the  new  fiimily.  When  I 
requested  his  consent  to  the  employment  of  a  teacher, 
he  asked  whom  I  thought  of  employing.  I  mentioned 
the  name  of  (me,  and  he  said,  "  He  is  not  good.  I  will 
send  you  a  better  one," — and  he  sent  me  his  own 
teacher. 

It  was  a  very  auspicious  beginning.  I  knew  that 
neither  the  Siamese  nor  the  I.fio  trusted  the  I'rince 
very  thoroughly;  yet  every  time  that  1  saw  him  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  might  trust  him.  At  any 
rate,  I  did  not  then  look  forward  to  the  scenes  that 
we  were  to  pass  through  before  three  years  were 
gone. 

After  the  first  curiosity  wo;:e  ofiF,  many  of  those  who 
came  tu  uur  ssulu  were  patients  seeking  medical  treat- 


PIONEER  WORK 


87 


mcnf.  The  title  "Maw"  (doctor)  followed  me  from 
IJangkok,  where  all  miKsionaries,  I  believe,  are  still  so 
called.  This  name  itself  often  excited  hopes  which, 
of  course,  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  To  the 
ignorant  all  diseases  weem  oquallj  curable,  if  only  there 
be  the  requisite  skill  or  power,  ilow  often  during 
those  first  five  years  I  regretted  that  I  was  not  a 
tri.ined  physician  and  surj^eoo!  My  only  consolation 
was  that  it  was  not  my  fault.  When  my  thoughts 
were  first  turned  towards  missions,  I  consulted  the 
oflBcers  of  our  IJoard  on  the  wisdom  of  taking  at  Itast 
a  partial  course  in  preparation  for  my  work.  Rut 
medical  missions  had  not  then  assumed  the  importance 
they  since  have  won.  In  fact,  jnst  then  they  were  at  a 
di.sc(»unt.  The  Board  naturally  thought  that  medical 
study  would  be,  lor  me  at  least,  a  waste  of  time,  and 
ai^ed  besides  that  in  most  mission  fields  there  were 
English  physicians.  But  it  so  happened  that  eleven 
years  of  my  missionary  life  have  l)een  spent  in  sta- 
tions from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  miles  distant 
from  a  physician.  So,  if  any  physician  who  reads 
this  narrative  is  inclined  to  criticise  me  as  a  quack,  I 
beg  such  to  remember  that  I  was  driven  to  it— I  had 
to  do  whatever  I  could  in  the  case  of  illness  in  my 
own  family ;  and  for  pity  I  could  not  turn  away  tho.se 
who  often  had  notbing  but  superstitious  charms  to 
rely  on.  It  was  a  comfort,  moreover,  to  know  that 
in  spite  of  inevitable  disappointments,  our  practice 
of  medicine  made  friends,  and  possibly  enabled  us  to 
maintain  the  field,  at  a  time  when  simply  as  Christian 
teachers  we  could  not  have  done  so.  Even  Prince 
K^wilorot  himself  conceded  so  much  when,  after  for- 
bidding us  to  remain  as  missiouai  it's,  he  said  we  might, 
if  we  wished,  remain  to  treat  tlie  sick. 


88     AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


In  such  a  malarial  country,  there  is  no  estimating 
the  boon  conferred  by  the  introduction  of  quinine  alone. 
Malarial  fevers  often  ran  on  season  after  season,  creat- 
ing an  anaemic  condition  such  that  the  least  exertion 
would  bring  on  the  fever  and  chills  again.  The  aston- 
ishment of  the  people,  therefore,  is  not  surprising  when 
two  or  three  small  powders  of  the  "  white  medicine," 
as  they  called  it,  taken  with  much  misgiving,  would 
cut  short  the  fever,  while  their  own  medicines,  taken 
by  the  potfal  for  many  months,  had  failed.  The  few 
bottles  of  quinine  which  it  had  beon  tbdught  sufficient 
to  bring  with  me,  were  soon  exliaiisted.  The  next 
order  was  for  forty  four-ounce  bottles;  and  not  till  our 
physicians  at  length  began  to  orcter  by  the  thousand 
ounces  could  a  regular  supply  be  kept  on  hand.  I 
have  often  been  in  villages  where  every  child,  and 
nearly  every  person,  young  or  old,  had  chills  and  fever, 
till  the  spleen  was  enlarged,  and  the  whole  condition 
8uch  that  restoration  was  possible  only  after  months  of 
treatment. 

There  was  another  malady  very  common  then — the 
goitre — which  had  never  been  cured  by  any  remedy 
known  to  the  Lao  doctors.  I  soon  learned,  however, 
thnt  an  ointment  of  potassium  iodide  was  almost  a  spe- 
cific in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  disease.  That  soon  gave 
my  medicine  and  my  treatme^'t  a  repntation  that  no 
regular  physician  could  have  sustained;  for  the  people 
were  sure  that  one  who  could  cure  the  goitre  must  be 
able  to  cure  any  disease.  If  I  protested  that  I  was 
not  a  doctor,  it  seemed  a  triumphant  answer  to  say, 
"Why,  you  cured  such  a  one  of  the  goitre."  Often 
when  I  declined  to  undertake  the  treatment  of  some 
disease  above  my  skill,  the  patient  would  go  away  say- 
ing, "  I  believe  you  could,  if  you  would." 


PIONEER  WOBK 


89 


One  other  part  of  my  medical  work  I  must  mention 

he  since  reference  will  be  made  to  it  later.  The 
ravages  of  smalli)ox  had  been  fearful,  .  mounting  at 
times  to  the  destruction  of  a  whole  generation  of 
children.  The  year  before  our  arrival  had  witnessed 
such  a  scour«,'(>.  Hardly  a  lumsehold  escaped,  and 
many  had  no  children  left.  1  was  specially  interested 
to  prevent  or  to  check  these  destructive  epidemics,  be- 
cause the  Prince  had  seen  the  efHcacy  of  vaccination 
as  practised  by  Dr.  r.nidley  in  Hangkok.  and  because 
1  felt  sure  that  what  he  had  seen  had  influenced  him 
to  give  his  consent  to  our  coming.  One  of  the  surest 
ways  then  known  of  seuding  the  virus  a  long  distance 
was  in  the  form  of  the  dry  scab  from  a  vaccine  pustule. 
When  nee  the  virus  had  "  taken,"  vaccination  went 
on  ffuia  arm  to  arm.  Dr.  Bradley  sent  me  the  first 
vaccine  scab.  It  reached  me  during  the  first  season; 
and  vaccination  from  it  ran  a  notable  course. 

The  Karens  and  other  hill  tribes  are  so  fearful  of 
smallpox  that  when  it  comes  near  their  villages,  they 
all  tlee  to  'he  mountains.  Smallpox  had  broken  out  in 
a  Lao  village  near  a  Karen  settlement.  The  settlement 
was  at  once  deserted.  Meanwhile  the  news  of  the  ef- 
ficacy of  vaccination  had  reached  the  Lao  village,  and 
they  sent  a  messenger  with  an  elephant  to  beg  me  to 
come  and  vaccinate  the  entire  community.  Two  young 
monks  came  also  from  an  adjoining  village,  where  the 
disease  was  already  raging.  These  two  I  vaccinated 
at  once,  and  sent  home,  arranging  to  follow  them  later 
when  their  pustules  should  be  ripe.  From  them  I  vac- 
cinated about  twenty  of  the  villagers.  During  the  fol- 
lowing week  the  Karens  all  returned,  and  in  one  day 
I  vaccinated  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  persons.  It 
was  a  strange  sight  to  see  four  generations  all  vac- 


90    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


cinated  at  one  time — great-grandfathers  holding  out 
their  withered  arms  along  with  babes  a  month  old. 

Soccpss  siirh  as  this  was  naturally  vory  flattering 
to  one's  pride ;  and  "  |)ride  goeth  before  a  fall."  I 
had  kept  the  Prince  informed  of  the  snccess  of  my  at- 
tempt, and  naturally  was  auxious  to  introduce  vac- 
cination into  the  ]»alaco.  The  patronage  of  the  palace 
would  ensure  its  introduction  into  the  whole  kingdom. 
Having  a  fine  vaccine  pnstnle  on  the  arm  of  a  healthy 
white  infant  hoy,  \  took  him  to  tlie  palace  to  show  the 
case  to  the  Prince's  daughter,  and  to  her  husband,  who 
Wed  the  heir-apparent.  They  bad  a  little  son  of  abont 
the  same  age.  The  parents  were  pleased,  and  sent  me 
w'  h  the  child  to  the  Prince.  As  soon  as  he  saw  the 
pusitule,  he  pronounced  it  genuine,  and  was  delighted. 
His  younger  daughter  had  lost  a  child  in  the  epidemic 
of  the  year  before,  and  tlie  family  was  naturally  very 
anxious  on  the  subject.  He  sent  me  immediately  to 
vaccinate  his  little  grandson. 

I  returned  to  the  palace  of  the  son-in-law,  and  very 
carefully  vaccinated  the  young  prince  on  whom  so 
many  hopes  were  centred.  1  watched  the  case  daily, 
and  my  best  hopes  seemed  realized.  The  pustules  de- 
veloped finely.  All  the  charactp'nstic  symptoms  ap- 
peared and  disappeared  at  the  pro[)er  times.  But 
when  the  scab  was  about  to  fall  off,  the  little  prince 
was  taken  with  diarrhoea.  I  felt  sure  that  a  little 
paregoric  or  some  other  simple  remedy  would  spoedily 
set  the  child  right,  and  I  offered  to  treat  the  case.  But 
half  a  dozen  doctors — most  of  them  *'  spirit-doctors  " 
— were  already  in  attendance.  The  poor  child,  I  verily 
believe,  was  dosed  to  death.  So  evident  was  it  that 
the  imfortunate  outcome  could  not  have  been  the  result 
of  vaccination,  that  both  the  parents  again  and  a^in 


PIONEER  WORK 


91 


assured  me  that  they  entertained  no  such  thought.  But 
all  diseases — as  was  then  universally  believed  among 

the  Lilo — are  the  result  of  incurring  the  displeasure 
of  the  "spirits"  of  the  family  or  of  the  dan.  The 
"spirits"  might  have  taken  umbrage  at  the  invasion  of 
their  prerogative  by  vaccination. 

Xo  doubt  some  such  thought  was  whisi)ered  to  the 
Printe,  and  it  is  not  unnatural  that  he  should  at  least 
have  half  believed  c.  In  his  grief  at  the  loss  of  his 
grandson,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  that  thought  may  have 
fanned  hir  jealousy  at  the  growing  influence  of  the 
missionaries. 

No  year  ever  passed  more  rapidly  or  more  pleas- 
antly than  that  first  year  of  the  mission.  We  were  too 
busy  to  be  either  lonesome  or  homesick,  although,  to 
complete  our  isolation,  we  bad  no  mails  of  any  sort 
for  many  months.  Our  two  children,  the  one  of  three 
and  the  other  of  six  years,  were  a  great  com.'ori  to  us. 
When  we  left  Bangkok  it  was  understood  that  a  Mr.  C. 
of  the  Borneo  Company  was  to  follow  us  in  a  month  on 
business  of  their  teak  trade.  Ue  had  promised  to  bring 
up  our  mail.  So  we  felt  sure  of  get1in<»  our  first  let 
ters  in  good  time.  Since  he  would  travel  much  faster 
than  we,  it  was  not  impossible  that  he  might  overtake 
us  on  the  way.  Hut  April,  May,  and  June  passed,  and 
still  no  word  of  Mr.  C.  or  of  the  mails  h,j  was  bringing. 
In  July  we  received  a  note  from  him,  with  a  few  frag- 
ments of  our  long  lookefj  for  mail.  He  had  been  at- 
tacked by  robbers  below  Uahen<;,  liiinself  had  received 
a  serious  wound,  and  his  boat  had  been  looted  of  every 
portable  object,  including  our  mail-bag.  Fortunately 
the  robbers,  finding  nothing  of  value  to  them  in  the 
mail,  had  dropped  as  they  fled  some  mutilated  letters 
and  papers,  which  the  officers  in  pursuit  picked  up, 


92    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


and  which  Mr.  C.  forwurded  to  uh.  OtherwiM  we 
•boald  hare  had  nothing.  We  covld  at  least  be  de- 
voutly thankful  that  we  had  traroraed  the  aame  rim 

in  safety. 

It  was  long  liefore  we  were  rare  that  Mr.  Wilson  and 
his  family  were  coming  at  all  that  year.   It  was  at 

least  possible  that  any  one  of  a  thousand  causes  might 
delay  theui,  or  even  prevent  their  coming  altogether. 
Their  arrival  on  Pebrnary  15th,  1868,  was,  of  course,  a 
great  event. 

Not  h)ng  after  this  we  were  eagerly  awaiting  a 
promised  visit  froni  our  old  associate  and  friend,  Dr. 
8.  B.  House.  Both  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Mrs.  McOilrary 
were  expecting  shortly  to  be  confined,  and  the  good 
doctor  was  making  the  tedious  journey  that  he  might 
be  on  hand  to  help  them  with  his  professional  skill  in 
the  hour  of  their  need.  Our  dismay  can  be  imagined, 
when,  one  day,  there  appeared,  not  the  doctor,  but  his 
native  assistant,  with  a  few  pencilled  lines  from  the 
doctor,  telling  us  that  he  was  lying  in  the  forest  some 
four  or  five  days  distant,  dangerously,  if  not  fatally, 
gored  by  an  elejjhant.  We  were  not  to  come  to  him, 
but  were  to  stand  by  and  attend  to  the  ue  i  of  our 
families.  He  hegged  us  to  pray  for  him,  and  to  send 
him  some  Cv)mforts  and  medicines. 

The  accident  happened  on  this  wise :  The  doctor  bad 
been  walking  awhile  for  exercise  behind  his  riding 
elephant,  ai  then  r.t templet,  to  pass  up  beside  the 
creature  to  the  front.  The  elephant,  startled  at  his  un- 
exijected  appearance,  struck  him  to  the  ground  with  a 
blow  of  his  trunk,  gored  him  havagely  in  the  abdomen, 
and  was  about  to  trample  him  under  foot,  when  the 
driver,  not  a  moment  too  soon,  got  the  creature  again 
ander  control.   With  rare  nerve  the  doctor  cleansed 


PIONKF^R  WORK 


93 


the  frightful  wound,  and  sewed  it  up  hy  the  help  of 
its  reflection  in  a  mirror,  at  he  lay  on  hia  back  on  the 
ground.  He  dcRpatchod  Mio  rapsRpnger  to  uh;  gave 
careful  instructions  to  iiis  attendants  as  to  wliat  thpy 
ahonld  do  for  him  when  the  inevitable  fever  and  de- 
lirinm  ahonld  come  on;  and  resigned  bimiMlf  calmly 
to  await  whatever  the  outcome  might  be. 

The  situation  was,  indeed,  desperate.  We  could 
not  possibly  hope  to  reach  him  before  the  qnestion  of 
life  or  death  for  him  would  be  settled ;  nor  could  he  be 
brought  to  us.  Tlie  best  we  could  do  was  to  get  an 
order  from  the  Prince  for  a  boat,  boatmen,  and  car- 
riers, and  despatch  these  down  the  river,  committing 
with  earnest  prayer  the  potir  sufferer  to  the  all  loving 
Father's  care.  The  doctor  was  carried  ou  a  bamboo 
litter  through  the  jungle  to  the  M£  Ping  River,  and  in 
doe  time  reached  Chiengmai  convalescent,  to  find  that 
the  two  I'xpected  young  missionaries  had  arrived  in 
safety  before  him.  After  a  month's  rest  he  was  able 
to  retnm  to  Bangkok ;  bnt  not  nntil  be  had  amisted 
us  in  organizing  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Chiengmai. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Record  for  November,  1868,  will 
be  fonnd  an  interesting  report  from  the  doctor's  pm. 
Naturally  he  was  struck  with  the  predominance  of 
demon-worship  over  Buddhism  among  the  Lao.  We 
quote  the  following: 

"  Not  only  offerings,  but  actually  prayers  are  made  to 
demons.  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  prayer  of  the  kind  I 
ever  heard.  .  .  .  We  had  just  entered  a  dark  defile  in  the 
mountains,  beyond  Muang  Ton,  and  liad  come  to  a  rude, 
imageless  shrine  erected  to  the  guardian  demon  of  the  pass. 
The  owner  of  my  riding-elephant  was  seated  on  the  neck 
of  the  big  beast  before  me.  Putting  the  palms  of  his  hands 


f)i    A.MoN'n  Tin:  siamksi:  and  the  lao 


together  and  raiaiog  them  in  the  attitude  of  worship,  he 
prayed :  '  Let  no  evil  happen  to  ua.   We  are  aix  men  and 

throe  cli'phfiiits.  Let  us  not  bo  injured.  I^t  nothitu;  come 
to  frighten  us,'  uiid  so  on.  On  my  way  down  the  river,  at 
the  rupiils  and  gloomy  piism^H  in  the  mountains  the  boatnicn 
would  laud,  tftpcru  would  be  lighted,  and  libations  would  be 
|)ouri'(l,  and  offerings  of  flowen,  food,  and  betel  would  be 
nui<le  to  tin'  powiTs  of  durkni  ss." 

The  doctor  Hpcaka  also  of  "  the  favour  with  which  the  mis- 
sionaries  were  received,  the  confidence  they  had  won  from  all 
clesaea,  the  itiflui'iicc  of  thoir  nipdicinos,  ami  the  prntul 
field  open  tor  a  physician."  Ilo  frankly  aays,  "i  must  tou- 
fcss  that  tlioui;h  at  one  time  I  did  have  some  misgiviiiKs 
whether,  all  things  considered,  the  movement  was  not  a  little 
premature,  T  now,  being  better  able  to  judge,  greatly  honour  the 
('hristi;i!i  courit^ri'  mid  enterprise  which  undertook  the  work; 
or  ratiiLT  bloss  (iod  who  inspired  Mr.  McGilvary's  heart,  and 
made  his  old  Princeton  frieml.  Mr.  Wilson,  consent  to  join 
him  in  thus  striking  out  boldly  into  an  untried  field.  It 
will  prove,  I  trust,  a  field  ready  to  the  harvedt." 


VIll 


PIR8T-PRDIT8 

TIKIN(i  tin-  tirst  lliii'e  iiiuntlis  after  Mr.  Wil- 


hou'h  arrival  we  were  ho  occupied  with  mis- 


Bion  work  and  with  family  careii  that  we  had 

not  made  cIkiIc*'  (if  llif  lot  \vlii(  li  (lie  I'ritic*'  had  prniii- 
ised  to  give  us.  Uu  the  ver^  day  that  Dr.  House  left 
us,  however,  the  Prince  came  in  person,  selected,  and 
made  over  to  ns  our  present  lH>aiiiifiil  mission  com- 
pound on  the  east  hank  of  tiu-  Mt"  I'inir.  He  would  not 
allow  us  to  ofifer  an)-  compensation;  but,  learning  after- 
wards that  the  native  owners  had  received  no  remnnera- 
tion,  we  secretly  paid  them.  Mr.  Wilson  lK'<,'au  at  once 
to  erect  temporary  bamboo  buildings,  and  soon  moved 
to  the  new  compound.  Since  it  was  diflBcuIt  for  me 
to  spare  time  for  further  work  of  building  for  myself, 
and  since  the  old  location  was  an  ideal  one  for  mci't- 
ing  the  people,  I  moved  with  my  family  from  the  .sala 
into  the  bamboo  house  the  Wilsons  had  occupied,  and 
we  II  iule  it  our  home  for  the  next  two  years. 

Mr  \V  Isiui  was  preatly  interrujitcd  iu  his  work  by 
sickness  in  ais  family.  Little  Frank  had  fallen  ill 
on  the  jonrney  from  Bangkok,  and  continued  to  suffer 
during  all  these  months.  His  death  on  November  17th, 
18G8,  was  .'i  heavy  stroke  to  us  all.  In  vain  we  com- 
bined our  slight  medical  skill,  and  searched  our  books 
of  domestic  medicine  for  his  relief.  It  was  pitiful 
enough  to  see  the  natives  die,  with  the  sad  feeling  in 


95 


96    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


our  hearts  lliat  a  plivsician  niijj;ht  Lave  saved  their 
lives.  lUit  the  death  of  ^me  of  our  own  number,  so 
soon  after  the  trying  experiences  early  in  the  year, 
emphasized,  as  nothing  else  could  have  done,  our  ap- 
peals for  a  physician.  Yet  it  was  not  until  1S72  that 
we  welcomed  the  first  physician  appointed  to  our 
mission. 

During  this  time  raids  were  continually  being  made 
into  the  Lfio  country  by  the  renegade  Nglo  chieftain 
already  spoken  of.  Five  hundred  men  from  Pr6,  and 
one  thousand  from  Lakawn  were  drafted  for  the  defence 
of  the  city,  and  were  stationed  near  our  compound. 
Tht "  hundreds  of  soldiers  and  workmen  furnished  us 
an  ever-changing  audience.  All  we  had  to  do,  day  or 
night,  was  to  touch  the  organ,  and  people  would  crowd 
in  to  hear.  The  dry  season  of  1868-G9  was,  therefore, 
cn  exceptionally  good  one  for  our  work.  We  had  con- 
stant visitors  from  other  provinces,  who  would  con- 
verse with  us  by  the  hour,  and,  on  returning  to  their 
homes,  would  carry  the  news  of  our  presence  and  of 
our  work. 

In  I  je  fall  of  1868  occurred  two  events  which,  widely 

different  as  they  might  seem  to  be,  were  in  reality 
closely  connected,  and  of  much  importance  in  their 
bearing  on  the  mission.  One  was  a  total  eclipse  of  the 
sun  on  August  17th,  and  the  other  was  the  conversion 
of  Xfiu  liita.  our  lirst  '  aptized  convert.  I  well  re- 
member his  tall  figure  and  thoughtful  face  when  he 
first  appeared  at  our  saia,  shortly  after  our  arrival 
in  Chiengmai.  He  had  a  cough,  and  had  come  for 
medicine.  Ho  had  heard,  too,  that  we  taught  a  new 
religion,  and  wished  to  enquire  about  that.  Some 
soothing  expectorant  sufficiently  relieved  his  cough  to 
encourage  him  to  make  another  call.   On  each  visit 


FIRST-FRUITS 


97 


religion  was  the  all-absorbing  topic.  He  hafl  studied 
Buddhism,  and  he  diligently  practised  its  jirecepts. 
As  an  abbot  he  had  led  others  to  make  offerings  for 
the  monastery  worship,  and  he  had  two  sons  of  his 
own  in  the  monastic  order.  But  Buddhism  had  never 
satisfied  his  deep  spiritual  nature.  What  of  the  thou- 
sands of  failures  and  transgressions  from  the  results 
of  which  there  was  no  escape?  The  doctrine  of  a  free 
and  full  pardon  through  the  merits  of  another,  was 
both  new  and  attractive  to  him,  but  it  controverted 
the  fundamental  principle  of  his  religion. 

We  had  some  arguments,  also,  on  the  science  of 
geography,  on  the  shape  of  the  earth,  on  the  nature 
of  eclipses,  and  the  like.  What  he  ii«}ard  was  as  for- 
eign to  all  his  preconceived  ideas  a.s  was  the  doctrine 
of  salvation  from  sin  by  the  death  of  Christ.  Just  be- 
fore the  great  eclipse  was  to  occur  I  told  him  of  it, 
naming  the  day  and  the  hour  when  it  was  to  occur. 
I  pointed  out  that  the  eclii)se  could  not  be  causea  by 
a  monster  which  attacked  the  sun,  as  he  had  been 
taught.  If  that  were  the  cause,  no  one  could  foretell 
the  day  when  the  monster  would  be  moved  to  make 
the  attack.  He  at  once  caught  that  idea.  If  the 
eclipse  came  off  as  I  said,  he  would  have  to  admit 
that  his  teaching  was  wrong  on  a  point  perfectly 
capable  of  being  tested  by  the  senses.  There  would 
then  be  a  strong  presumption  that  we  were  right  in 
religion  as  well  as  in  eclipses.  He  waited  with  intense 
interest  for  the  day  to  come.  The  sky  was  clear,  and 
everything  was  favourable.  He  watched,  with  a 
smoked  glass  that  we  had  furnished,  the  reflection 
of  the  sun  in  a  bucket  of  water.  He  followed  the 
coming  of  the  eclipse,  its  progress,  and  its  passing  off, 
as  ffiBzioQsly  as  the  wise  men  of  old  followed  the  star  of 


98     AM()\(5  THE  STAMESH  AND  THE  LAO 


Itethloliem — and,  like  them,  be,  too,  was  led  to  the 
Saviour. 

Early  the  next  morning  he  came  in  to  see  me.  His 
first  words  were,  "Men  te"  (It's  really  true).  "The 
teacher's  books  teach  truth.  Ours  are  wrong."  This 
contldent  assurance  had  evidently  been  reached  after 
a  sleepless  night.  A  complete  revolution  had  taken 
place  in  liis  mind;  lu  t  it  was  one  that  cosi  him  a 
severe  struggle.  His  ouly  hope  had  rested  on  the 
teachings  of  Buddha,  and  it  was  no  light  thing  to  see 
the  foundation  of  his  iictpe  undermined.  The  eclipse 
had  started  an  ever  widening  rift.  He  began,  as  never 
before,  to  examine  the  credeuiiais  of  Christianity.  He 
soon  learned  to  read  Siamese  in  order  to  gain  access 
to  our  Scriptures.  We  read  th'»  (Jospel  of  John  to- 
gether, lie  studied  the  Shorter  (i^atechism.  He  had 
a  logical  mind,  and  it  was  never  idle.  Whenever  we 
met,  if  only  for  a  few  mom«its,  he  always  had  some 
question  to  ask  me.  or  some  new  douitt  to  solve.  When 
tempted  to  doubt,  he  fell  back  on  the  eclipse,  saying, 
"  I  know  my  books  were  wrong  there.  If  the  Gospel 
system  seems  loo  good  to  be  true  in  that  it  offers  to 
pardcm  and  cleanse  and  adopt  guilt,,  sinners,  and  give 
them  a  title  to  a  heavenly  inheritance,  it  is  simply 
because  it  is  divine,  and  not  human."  While  the  tmth 
dawned  gradually  on  his  mind,  the  full  visi.  u  :  ocmed 
to  be  sudden.  His  own  account  was  that  afterwards, 
when  walking  in  the  fields  and  pondering  the  subject, 
it  all  became  very  plain  to  him.  His  doubts  all  van- 
ished. Henceforth  for  him  to  live  was  t'hrist;  ai-d 
he  eounle<l  all  things  but  lu.ss  for  the  excellency  oi 
the  knowledge  of  Him. 

Tlie  conversion  of  Niin  Inta  was  an  epoch  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  mission.   The  ordinary  concourse  of  vis- 


FIRST  FRUITS 


99 


itors  might  be  for  medicine,  or  it  might  be  from  mere 
curiosity.  But  wiien  oue  of  the  most  zealous 
Buddhists,  well  known  by  members  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily, openly  embraced  Thristianity,  the  matter  began 
to  assume  a  ditlerent  asi)ect.  What  was  more  remark- 
able still  was  that  he  urged  his  two  sons  to  abandon 
the  monastic  order.  Tlie  I'rince's  younger  daughter, 
bersclf  a  strong  Buddhisl,  told  nie  that  this  was  to  her 
convincing  evidence  of  his  sincerity.  Whether  Chris- 
tianity were  true  or  false,  he  certainly  believed  it  true. 
It  was  the  height  o  ambition  for  every  Lao  father  to 
have  a  son  in  the  order.  If  he  had  none  of  his  own, 
he  often  would  adopt  one  and  make  him  a  monk.  But 
here  was  one  of  the  most  devout  of  them  urging  his 
own  sons  to  c  me  out  and  be  Christians !  We  re- 
garded it  as  a  favourable  circumstance  that  the  patron 
and  protector  of  this  our  first  convert  was  high  in 
princely  rank.  Nan  Inta's  defection  from  Buddhism 
produced  a  profound  impression  among  jill  classes. 
Emboldened  by  his  example,  secret  believeri?  became 
more  open.  Not  the  nnmber  alone,  but  the  character  of 
the  enquirers  attracted  attention. 

The  second  convert  was  Noi  Sunya,  a  native  doctor 
from  a  village  eight  miles  to  the  east.  He  has  the 
enviable  distinction  of  never  having  postponed  the 
Gospel  offer.  Fie  was  the  chief  herdsman  in  charge 
of  the  Prince's  cattle.  Coming  to  the  city  on  an 
errand,  he  called  at  our  bSlISl  to  see  what  was  the  at- 
traction there.  As  in  the  case  of  so  many  others,  it 
was  the  good  news  of  pardon  for  a  sinsick  soul  that 
arrested  his  attention.  On  his  return  in  the  after- 
noon he  called  again  to  make  fuller  enquiry  concern- 
ing "  the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love."  He 
promised  to  return  on  Bunday.    Promises  of  that  sort 


100  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


so  often  fail,  that  we  were  surprised  and  delighted  to 
see  him  early  on  Sunday  morning.  We  had  an  earnest 
talk  together  before  the  time  came  for  poblic  worship. 
He  remained  through  the  afternoon,  and  spent  the 
night  with  us.  In  answer  to  a  final  exhortation  be- 
fore he  left  us  in  the  morning,  he  said,  "  You  need  not 
fear  my  going  back.  I  feel  sure  I  am  right."  He  was 
willing  to  sell  all — oven  life  itself,  as  it  proved — for 
the  pearl  of  great  price.  He  went  home,  called  his 
family  together,  and  began  family  worship  that  very 
night.  Only  four  brief  months  after  this  his  labours 
were  ended  by  the  executioner's  stroke,  and  he  wore 
the  martyr's  crown. 

The  third,  Sto  Tft  Wichai,  has  already  been  men- 
tioned as  receiving  his  first  instruction  in  Christianity 
from  the  "  mother  teacher,"  as  Mrs.  McGilvary  was 
called,  during  the  very  first  month  of  the  mission.  He 
then  received  the  great  truth  of  the  existence  of  God 
and  of  man's  accountability  to  Him.  He  was  an  of- 
ficer living  six  days'  journey  to  the  north,  and  was  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  the  Prince  of  Lampiln.  On  his 
visit  a  year  later,  he  received  further  instruction,  was 
baptized,  and  returned  to  tell  his  neighbours  what  he 
had  found.  They  mly  laughed  at  him  for  his  oddity 
in  refusing  to  jo in  the  Buddhist  worship,  and  in 
offerings  to  *he  spirits. 

The  fourth  was  Nan  Chai,  a  neighbour  and  friend  of 
Noi  Sunya,  and  destined  to  suffer  martyrdom  along 
with  him.  He,  too,  was  an  ex-abbot,  and,  therefore, 
exempt  from  government  work.  He  was  a  good 
scholar,  and  was  employed  by  Mr.  Wilson  as  a  teacher. 
When  he  became  a  Christian,  he  was  strongly  tempted 
to  hold  on  still  to  his  position  in  the  monastery,  ex- 
plaining that  he  would  not  himself  engage  in  the  wor- 


FIRST  FRUITS 


101 


ship,  but  would  only  sweep  the  buildings  and  keep 
tbe  groonds  in  order  for  others.  But  when  his  duty 
was  pointed  out  to  him,  he  readily  gave  up  his  posi- 
tion, and  was  enntlled  for  regular  government  service. 
Here  were  four  noble  and  notable  men  at  once  desert- 
ing the  Bnddhist  faith!  No  wonder  it  became  an 
anxioub  question  wherennto  this  was  to  grow. 


IX 


MARTYRDOM 

IN  the  course  of  those  events  our  second  year  of 
work  in  Chieuguiai  had  ct)me  to  its  end.  We 
were  now  beyond  the  middle  of  the  year  1869.  As 
some  intteflnahle  sense  of  oppression  in  the  air  fjives 
warning  of  the  approaching  storm,  so  there  were  om- 
inous hints,  and  even  some  dark  forebodings.  Onr 
Christian  people — who  understood  far  better  than  we 
did  both  the  character  of  their  rulers  and  the  sig- 
uilicance  of  furtive  looks  and  innuendoes — were 
anxious.  But  they  stood  firm,  and  their  faith  strength- 
ened ours. 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  events  we  now  know 
that  the  most  dangerous  element  in  the  gathering 
storm  was  the  angry  surprise  of  the  Prince  himself  at 
the  discovery  that  the  old  order  seemed  actually  pass- 
ing away  under  his  very  eyes;  that  his  will  was  no 
longer  supreme  ia  men's  minds,  nor  always  consulted 
in  their  actions — this  and  the  deep  ticai  liiny  and  ruth- 
less cruelty  of  his  nature  which  it  brought  into  i)lay. 
but  there  were  other  sinister  influences  at  work  also, 
and  among  them  we  must  not  overlook  that  of  a  certain 
rortuguose  adventurer,  Fonseca  by  name,  lie  was  a 
thoroughly  unprincipled  man,  who,  having  played  his 
game  in  Bangkok  and  lost,  had  worked  himself  into 
the  favour  of  the  Prince  during  his  recent  visit  to  the 
capital,  and  had  accompauied  him  on  his  return 

102 


MARTYRDOM 


103 


to  Chienpmai.  The  Prince  was  persnaded  that  this 
man  could  be  of  great  service  to  him  in  the  two  mat- 
ters which  were  then  causing  him  most  di»}nietnde; 
namely,  the  defence  of  certain  lawsuits  involving  large 
sums  of  money,  brought  against  him  in  the  British 
Consular  Court  by  Burmese  timber  merchants;  and 
the  getting  rid  of  the  missionaries.  These  last  were 
more  in  Fonseca's  way  than  they  were  in  the  Prince's, 
lie  could  accomplish  his  ends  more  readily  if  they 
were  not  there. 

The  most  plausible  excuse  that  could  be  ofifered 
for  desiring  to  be  rid  of  the  missionaries  was  the  failure 
of  the  rice  crop  that  year.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
season  there  was  no  rain  at  all.  When  at  last  the 
fields  had  been  planted,  one  of  the  worst  floods  ever 
known  in  that  region  destroyed  all  the  lowland  rice. 
Then,  finally,  the  rains  ceased  prematurely,  and  the 
upland  crop  was  cut  off  by  drought.  The  presence 
of  the  missionaries  in  the  country  had  offended  the 
spirits,  and  they  had  withheld  the  rain.  Such  was  the 
pretext  urged  in  a  petition  sent  to  Bangkok  to  have 
the  missionaries  removed.  The  specific  address  of  the 
petition  to  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  the 
United  States  Consul  leads  one  to  suspect  that  the 
matter  was  directed  by  some  one  who  understood  the 
orde  official  business  much  better  than  did  the  Lfto 
Prin 

T"^    ■  iister  forwarded  the  document  to  Mr.  Mc- 

Doi  the  acting  Vice-Consul  at  the  time.  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald replied  to  the  Minister  that  there  must  be 
some  mistake  about  it.  It  appeared  that  the  scarcity 
of  rice  complained  of  had  begun  the  year  before  the 
arrival  of  the  missionaries;  it  was  not  confined  to 
Chiengmai,  but  extended  over  all   the  northern 


104  AM()X(J  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TOE  LAO 


provinces,  lie  added  roguishly-,  however,  that  be 
would  strictly  enjoin  the  American  missionaries  to  be 
very  c.-ircful  in  future  not  to  cause  any  famine.  Of 
all  111  is  secret  plotting  we  were  entirely  ignorant  at  the 
time,  and  learaed  of  it  only  long  afterwards.  While 
these  plots  were  developing,  I  was  frequently  visiting 
the  Prince,  and  all  our  relations  with  him  were  ap- 
parently satisfactory.  But  we  know  that  he  was  un- 
der the  influence  of  a  wily  and  unprincipled  adversary. 

The  other  matter  in  which  Fonseca  was  supposed  to 
he  able  to  help  his  patron  out  of  difficulties  even  more 
pressing,  was  the  Burmese  lawsuits  pending  berore  the 
British  Consul.  But  the  British  government  was  the 
last  party  fo  permit  officious  meddling  with  its  public 
business  from  such  a  quarter.  It  is  presumed  that 
there  was  evidence  of  his  interference  witb  official  cor- 
respondence. This  much  is  certain — a  peremptory  de- 
mand was  made  on  the  Siamese  government  for  his  re- 
call. The  official  order  sent  up  was  too  emphatic  to 
be  neglected.  The  man  was  sent  out  of  the  country 
in  quite  diflFerent  style  from  that  in  which  he  entered 
it.  This  man  is  known  to  have  been  present  at  the 
consultation  relative  to  the  mission.  If  the  jealousy 
and  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  Prince  did  not  origi- 
nate with  him,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  at  least 
worked  on  the  Prince's  suspicious  natuie,  increasing 
his  jealousy  of  the  growing  popularity  of  the  mission, 
and  leading  him  to  think  that  it  would  be  wise  to  stop 
it  in  its  incipioncy. 

Yet  even  when  the  blow  was  about  to  fall,  we  could 
not  believe  that  the  Prince  was  so  treacherous  as  to 
plan  to  drire  us  out  of  the  country,  at  the  same  time 
that  l  e  continued  to  treat  us  so  kindly,  and  would 
even  come  to  dine  with  us.    We  could  not  believe  that 


MARTTBDOM 


105 


the  younger  PrioceM,  who  had  a  predominating  in- 
fluence over  Ler  father,  could  encourage  one  of  the 
'Christians  to  put  himself  under  her  protection,  only 
iiiat  he  might  tlie  more  surely  be  sent  to  his  death  a 
day  or  two  later.  We  conid  not  believe  that  an  ex- 
cursion down  the  river  bad  been  planned  by  the 
Prince,  only  that  he  might  be  out  of  reach  when  the 
executions  shonld  take  place.  We  were  still  incred- 
nions,  even  after  we  received  reliable  information  from 
the  agent  of  the  liorneo  Company  that  he  had  heard 
the  Prince  and  a  certain  high  officer  consulting  together 
to  stop  onr  work.  The  plan  which  he  reported  was 
to  expel  the  converts  from  the  country,  giving  their 
wives  and  children  the  option  to  follow  them  or  to 
remain.  After  all,  that  wonld  not  have  been  so  great 
a  disaster.  These  men  had  no  great  possessions  to 
lose.  Their  banishment  v/ould  only  plant  the  Gospel 
in  other  provir       r  other  lands. 

When,  in  S  iber,  1869,  just  before  the  fatal 
stroke,  the  Prince  started  on  what  purported  to  be  a 
three  weeks'  fishing  trip,  we  thought  that  his  absence 
would  give  us  a  respite  from  our  present  fears,  and 
wonld  afford  him  leisure  for  better  thoughts.  As  his 
boats  pushed  off,  we  waved  him  a  parting  good-bye  from 
the  shore.  His  first  business  was  at  Lampun,  to  se- 
cure the  co-operation  of  the  governor  of  that  province 
in  ridding  the  country  of  the  new  religion.  Inasmuch 
as  SC'n  Ya  Wichai,  the  thii-d  convert  mentioned  above, 
was  a  Lampun  officer,  it  was  thought  prudent  in  his 
case  to  secure  the  action  of  his  own  immediate  superior. 
He  was  at  once  sent  for,  and  was  condemned  to 
death,  but  was  saved  by  his  young  master,  the  gov- 
ernor's son,  on  the  plea  that  he  was  a  backwoodsman, 
and  knew  no  better. 


106  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  hkO 


Of  the  deep  designs  against  m  and  our  work  we 
were  thus  either  ignorant  or  incredulous  till,  on  the 

evenlDfr  of  Srpfemlier  llltli,  just  before  tlnik,  our 
night  watohnuin  came  to  us  with  the  eomuion  excuse 
for  leaving  us,  that  some  relative  was  dead  or  dying, 
and  insisting  that  he  must  go  immediatel.v.  In  vain 
we  nrced  that  he  must  not  leave  us  tlius  in  the  lurch. 
As  a  tlual  argument,  we  threatened  to  tlotk  him  of  a 
month's  wages.  Bnt  wages  were  nothing  to  him  then. 
<*  All  that  a  man  hath  w  ill  he  '/we  for  his  life."  While 
we  talked  to  hiui,  he  had  reached  the  gate  and  was 
gone.  «o,  also,  tied  the  coolc  and  the  coolie,  leaving 
only  one  blind  Ng!o  who  had  taken  refuge  with  ns. 

Mr.  Wilson  then  lived  across  the  river  on  the  new 
premises,  and  it  was  not  until  the  next  day  that  we 
learned  that  all  his  people,  too,  had  fled  in  like  manner 
and  at  the  same  hour.  We  went  to  Prayft  Tepasing, 
the  I'rince's  executive  oflicer,  to  enquire  the  cause.  Ue 
feigned  surprise,  and  professed  entire  ignorance  of 
any  designs  against  the  Christians.  He  said,  how- 
ever, that  the  Prince  had  {jivcn  an  order  that  the  in- 
habitants of  certain  villages  should  bring  in  each  a 
hewn  slab  of  timber  to  repair  the  stockade.  Possibly 
the  scare  might  have  somehow  arisen  from  that.  We 
were  aware  of  the  order,  and  had  told  the  christians 
that  if  pressed  for  time  to  procure  the  timber,  they 
might  each  take  a  slab  of  ours.  We  now  told  the 
Praya  that  we  would  ourselves  be  responsible  for  the 
timbers  required  of  them.  To  assure  us  with  regard 
to  our  servants,  the  I'rayu  sent  for  our  cook,  gave  him 
a  letter  assuring  his  safety,  and  threatened,  besides, 
to  have  him  flogged  if  he  deserted  us.  The  cook  re- 
mained wl.-i  us  all  through  these  troubles,  until  we 
could  find  another  to  take  his  place.   For  some  reason 


MARTYRDOM 


107 


Mr.  Wilson  did  not  avail  himself  of  thii  offer.  He  and 
Mra.  Wilson  got  on  as  ttey  could  without  aenranta  for 

sevt'T-nl  montlis. 

We  nuw  know  that  the  order  for  the  execution  of 
the  ChriHtinnB  had  been  given  long  before  by  that 

Hanic  Tiiiva  Tt'iiMsinfj  in  Hudi  Tear  <.'f  llic  I*iin<'e  was 
till'  liit;lics(  (illiccr  in  llu*  n'jiliu!  Not  only  had  our 
tiervants  vauislietl — lltcie  w  as  a  sudden  lessation  of  our 
visitors  as  well.  Few  even  dared  to  come  for  medi- 
cine fcr  fear  of  licinjr  suspect^'d  of  iM'coniiiifj  f'hris 
tians.  There  were,  however,  a  few  notable  exceptions, 
the  abbot  of  the  Cniong  monasterv  being  the  most  con- 
spicuous. 

Durins:  tlio  followinj;  wiH'k  Mr.  Wilson  waded  out 
across  t!ie  Hooded  country  to  the  hoiue  of  Nan  V.hai, 
his  teacher.  But  his  family  did  not  dare  to  give  any 
informal i«»n  concerning  hini.  To  tell  what  tliev  knew 
would  cost  their  lives  also  -so  they  bad  be  --i  told.  He 
then  went  on  anotiier  mile  to  Noi  Sunya's  hoi  i,  with 
t'.e  same  result.  The  wives  of  both  these  men  pre- 
tended to  believe  that  their  husbands  had  };<me  to  the 
city  to  visit  us.  Mr.  Wilson  noticed  that  one  of  the 
women  had  tears  in  her  eyes  as  she  spoke.  PuzEled 
rather  than  satistied  by  the  n'sult  of  the  visit,  Mr. 
Wilson  ri'turntHl  with  the  hope  that,  after  all,  the 
men  were  still  alive,  and  that  we  yet  should  see  them 
in  the  land  of  the  living. 

r  was  two  weeks  before  our  snsjtense  was  broken  by 
the  certainty  of  their  death.  On  Sunday  morning, 
September  2Gth,  a  Ngio  friend  and  neighbour  of  the 
martyrs  called  at  my  house.  After  looking  all  about 
him,  he  asked  where  the  Christians  were.  I  told  him 
tl.ere  seemed  to  be  a  mystery  about  them  that  we  could 
not  unravel,  but  we  hoped  they  were  siecreting  them- 


108  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


selves  in  safet^v  somewhere.  Weeing  that  I  was  really 
ignorant  of  their  fate,  be  came  doRe  np  to  me,  and 
looking  aioiind  again  fo  assure  liiiiisclf  tliat  no  one 
was  near,  lie  asked,  "  If  I  tell  ^uu,  will  you  promise 
never  to  betray  me?"  Having  demanded  and  re- 
ceived an  «>iii]>liatic  promise  equivalent  to  nn  oath,  he 
dn'w  his  hand  signitkantiy  arross  his  neck,  and  whis- 
pered, "  That  is  the  way."  His  gestui-e  was  too  well 
understood  in  that  reign  to  leave  any  doubt  ai  to  what 
was  meant.  The  man  had  really  come  on  a  sad  and 
dangerous  errand  of  kindness.  As  soon  as  it  was  ac- 
complished, be  hurried  away,  evidently  fearing  that 
the  birds  of  the  air  might  hear  it,  or  that  some  breOM 
might  waft  it  to  the  palat-e. 

On  Monday  morning  Mr.  Wilson  and  I  went  again 
to  the  PrayS.  He  could  now  no  longer  lie  for  his 
master  as  to  the  fact  of  the  execution  of  the  mea, 
hut  lie  offered  the  liinisy  excuse  that  it  was  because 
they  had  not  brought  in  their  slabs  on  time.  We  were 
then  obliged  to  chai^  him  with  patent  falsehood.  He 
knew  that  they  were  executed  for  no  crime  whatever, 
but  only  for  being  Christians.  Poor  man !  He  seemed 
somewhat  ashamed;  but  what  could  he  do?  He  was 
not  at  lieart  a  bad  man,  as  his  letter  of  protection  for 
the  cook  showed.  The  lives  of  two  peasants  were  no 
great  matter  in  those  days.  He  bad  been  so  trained 
to  execute  every  behest  of  his  master,  that  it  scarcely 
occurred  to  him  that  he  ou^rht  to  hesitate  at  this. 

But  it  was  some  relief  to  know  the  worst,  and  to 
know  that  it  was  known  that  we  knew  it.  Before  this 
we  had  been  obliged  to  feign  hopes  that  we  hardly  be- 
lieved ourselves.  Now  we  could  speak  openly.  The 
Prince  had  not  yet  returned  from  his  iisbing  trip;  so 
we  went  to  his  elder  daughter  and  her  husband,  after- 


MAKTVIfDOM 


ino 


ward  Prince  iatanon.  lu  their  poMltion  tbej  could  not 
■ay  macii ;  but  they  did  gay  that  what  the  Prince  had 
done  wa«  not  ri|^t,  and  that  they  did  not  approre  of 

the  act. 

One  uuk'oPiti  of  the  Hitualiou  wan  a  tloud  of  tlie 
wildest  njmoun — some  of  them,  no  doubt,  started  on 
purpose  tf>  friKliten  lis  awny.  One  of  these  toiiclied  oa 
in  a  most  tender  point.  One  of  our  most  faithful 
Hcr^ants,  who  iiuil  been  with  us  from  the  very  first,  was 
desirous  of  visiting  Banglcok.  80  we  arranged  to  have 
him  po  down  in  eliarpe  of  a  boat  tliat  was  to  bring 
up  our  supplies  for  the  year,  liy  him  we  sent  a  large 
paclcage  of  letters  written  before  we  had  reason  to 
suspect  so  serious  an  outcome  of  the  troubles  that  were 
brewinp.  While  we  conld  not  conreal  some  gloomy 
forebodings,  our  reports  were,  on  the  whole,  full  of 
hope  for  the  speedy  prt^nivss  of  the  Gospel.  The  boat 
left  for  T^anpkok  a  few  days  after  the  Prince  started 
on  his  fishing  trip.  Presently  it  was  reported  that  the 
boat  had  been  intercepted,  and  that  this  man,  with  his 
wife,  his  soil,  and  his  son's  family,  even  down  to  a  lit- 
tle grandchild  of  two  years  old.  had  been  iiiiled,  and 
the  boat  broken  to  pieces  and  burned. 

Althongh  such  atrocity  seemed  beyond  belief,  yet  h 
nuiiilier  of  circumstances  combined  to  pive  the  report 
credibility.  Why,  for  instance,  was  the  long,  unusual 
trip  dowu  the  river  taken  just  before  our  boat  was  to 
start?  What  did  it  mean  that,  after  the  mnrder  of 
the  Christians  was  known,  no  sum  of  money  could  in- 
duce a  Lfio  mtiU  to  take  a  letter  to  Bangkok?  If  the 
story  of  the  fate  of  our  messenger  were  true,  the  act 
was  the  act  of  a  madman — and  there  is  no  telling 
what  a  madman  may  not  do.  He  was  in  a  position 
to  keep  us  from  escaping;  and  if  he  had  really  gone 


110  AMONG  Tin:  SIAMESE  .WD  THE  LAO 


BO  far  .'IS  that,  he  evidently  did  not  intend  that  we 
should  be  heard  I'ruiu  alive. 

For  a  time  we  virtually  resigned  ourselves  to  what 
seemed  inevitable  late.  When  we  khiUI  ^ft  no  letters 
sent,  we  Mcluallv  l)ej;an  wiitinjj  the  iiistorv  of  those 
days  on  the  aiaij^ins  of  books  in  our  library,  so  that, 
if  we  were  never  heard  from  aj^ain,  some  of  the  prece- 
dent cireunistanees  of  our  end  iiii;4!it  thus,  perhaps, 
come  to  light.  It  was  a  gi-eat  relief,  therefore,  when  an 
influential  Burmese,  knowing  our  situation,  offered 
to  carry  a  letter  through  to  our  friends  in  lianukok. 

On  Sepleinber  l!!)(h,  when  the  leMers  earried  by  (he 
iSurmese  were  written,  we  were  s  ill  under  the  im- 
pression that  our  boatman  had  been  murdered,  and 
that  neither  he  nor  the  letters  and  reiioris  earried  by 
him  had  been  heard  from.  It  was  the  knowledge  that 
these  rumours  were  false,  and  that  he  had  passed 
Rah^ng  in  safety,  that  first  relieved  our  minds.  So, 
too,  his  an  ival  in  Bangkok  gave  our  fi  iends  there  the 
tirst  assuranee  of  our  safety.  With  this  explanation 
the  letters  themselves  will  give  the  be.-t  idea  of  our 
situation  in  those  dark  days.  The  following  is  from 
a  letter  of  Dr.  S.  II.  Mouse  to  our  Mission  Hoard  in 
New  York,  printed  in  (he  I'lTsbi/tciiaii  Record  of 
February,  1870.    It  is  dated  November  11th,  1869. 

"  Since  our  last  iii:iil  was  despatched,  tiditiRs  have  been 
Tecei.ed  frdiri  tlie  iiiis-idii  fainiliea  in  North  Laos  which 
have  greatly  distressed  and  alarmed  ua,  causing  no  little 
anxiety  for  their  personal  safety.  This  outburst  of  persecu- 
ticii  frMin  wliicli  they  arc  now  sufTi  riiifj;  must  have  bt>cn  quite 
unlooked  for,  for  their  letters  down  to  Soi)tember  10th  were 
full  of  encouragement  Never  had  the  king  and  the  princes  * 

1  That  is  the  Prince  of  Chiengmai  and  the  nobility.  These  terms 
are  so  used  generally  throughout  this  correspoDdencc.— Ed. 


MARTYUDO.M 


111 


seemed  more  friendly;  never  had  their  prospects  seemed 
brighter.  Seven  interesting  converts  hat'  been  baptized 
since  the  year  began,  and  they  had  r  •  l  bvr,  enjoying  a 
wonderfully  favourable  ()i)portunity  to  i-ike  the  t<:oi^[)^l  nes- 
sage  known  to  tlie  people  from  every  :<  !  ot  the  ki  ,.lom. 
,  ,  .  What  has  caused  this  sudden  cha  j:  j  in  vhi  'iem  anour 
of  the  king  of  Chiengmai  toward  oui"  luioolo— ;ri;  f»  there, 
does  not  appeiir.  .  .  . 

"  Thus  far  tliey  seem  to  have  had  no  aiipreheiision  for 
themselves  personally;  but  the  next  letter,  of  two  days'  later 
(late,  iiulieates  that  something  had  occurred  or  had  come  to 
their  knowli  iiKe  which  led  them  to  believe  that  their  own 
lives  were  in  jeopardy.  On  Scptemlx^r  21)lh  Mr.  MeUilvary 
writes  hurriedly  to  his  father-in-law,  Kev.  D.  B.  Bradley, 
M.D.,  of  the  A.  M.  A.  mission  aa  follows: — 

'  '  Dear  Fallior  and  Mother: — We  write  in  tell  you  that  we 
may  be  in  frieat  danger.  If  you  never  hear  from  us  more, 
know  that  we  are  in  heaven.  Scud  some  one  up  here  to  look 
after  our  Christians,  and  do  not,  we  beg  you,  grieve  over  the 
loss  of  our  lives.  Two  of  our  church  members  died  at  the 
martyr's  stake  on  the  lith  of  Sciitenilier.  Warrants  are 
out  for  the  others.  What  is  before  us  we  do  not  know.  We 
are  all  peaceful,  and  very  happy.  We  have  written  letters 
givinp  tlie  full  facts,  but  dare  not  send  them  for  fear  of  their 
intercept 

•' •  Luiijr  Puk  left  here  on  the  12th  direct  for  T'.auKkok. 
Should  he  never  reach  you,  you  may  fear  the  worst  for 
us.  .  .  .  He  had  a  large  mail  with  our  reports,  etc.  Should 
worst  (  'in(-  to  worst,  we  have  counted  the  cost  beforehand, 
and  our  death  will  not  be  in  vain.  Love  to  all  the  dear  ones. 
Good-bye.  dear  father,  mother,  brothers,  sisters,  and  friends — 
perhaps  till  we  meet  in  heaven ! ' " 

Dr.  House  then  continues: 

"  That  these  letters — the  last  one  especially — awakened  owe 

deepest  soli.-itude.  I  need  not  a-sorc  you.  The  brethren 
from  the  Pcchaburi  station  reached  Baiifrkcik,  to  attr-ud  the 
annual  session  of  Presbytery,  the  very  d.iy  the  startling 
tidings  came;  and  anxious  were  our  deliberations,  and 


112  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


earnest  our  prayors  in  belialf  of  tluisp  Lrothron  lieloved  and 
their  holiiloss  families.  A  inontli  had  then  ehipscd  since  the 
date  of  the  letters.    Were  they  still  in  the  land  of  the  living? 

"  It  was  deemed  advisable  that  some  of  our  number  should 
proceed  as  far  up  the  river  as  possible — to  Raheng  at  least — 
to  learn  the  existinfi:  state  of  thinKS  and  e.xtend  all  possible 
assistance.  After  consultation  thi.s  service  devolved  on  Bros. 
McDonald  and  George. 

"  Owing  to  the  peculiar  allegiance  which  holds  the  Lao 
tribes  tributary  to  the  Siamese,  it  was  thought  best  not  to 
press  any  doubtful  treaty  rightii  and  claims  through  the 
United  States  Consul — that  is,  the  protection  they  would 
be  entitled  to  claim  anywhere  on  the  soil  of  Si  am  proper — 
but  to  throw  ourselves  on  the  friendliness  and  good-will 
of  the  Siamese  Government  as  old  residents  here,  most  of 
us,  who  are  greatly  troubled  lest  harm  should  befall  our 
friends  who  are  living  in  one  of  their  tributary  states. 
What  could  they  do  to  help  us? 

"  The  deputation,  consisting  of  Dr.  Bradley,  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald, Mr.  George,  and  myself,  were  njost  kindly  received 
by  the  new  Regent  of  the  kingdom,  the  late  Prime  Minister — 
were  received  in  every  respect  as  friends,  and  le  best  en- 
deavours of  the  Siamese  Government  were  promised.  A 
government  official  would  be  despatched  at  once  bearing  a 
letter  to  the  king  of  Chiengmai,  enjoining  on  him  to  give 
protection  to  the  missionaries.  But  the  Regent  added,  '  It 
is  difficult  to  deal  with  a  man  so  niooJy  and  arbitrary  as  this 
Chief  of  Chieiij^mai.  lie  is  like  King  Theodore  of  Abys- 
sinia.'— This  too  significant  comparison  had  already  sug- 
gested itself  in  anything  but  an  agreeable  way  to  our- 
selves. 

The  Siamese  move  slowly  at  the  best,  and  the  brethren 
who  have  consented  to  go  on  this  errand  so  full  of  per- 
plexity and  possible  peril  started  several  days  before  the 
royal  messenpor's  prei)arations  were  completed.  We  are 
waiting  with  thi>  greatest  solicitude  further  tidings.  I  must 
say  from  wliat  I  know  of  the  character  of  the  man  in  whose 
hands  and  at  whose  mercy  they  are,  that  I  have  great  fears. 
Others  here,  however,  are  confident  that  no  barm  can  come  to 
tbem  personally." 


MARTYLDOM 


113 


The  following,  from  a  note  of  mine  to  the  I5oard, 
will  throw  further  light  on  our  letter  to  our  friends 
and  on  our  situation.  It  was  dated  O'  *ober  31st,  while 
we  were  anxiously  waiting  for  the  reply  to  our  letters. 

..."  But  the  particular  fact  that  filled  us  with  deepest 

anxiety  wlien  we  sent  that  note  to  BaiiRknk.  was  a  rumour 
that  the  king  had,  in  person,  stopped  a  boat  in  charge  of  our 
old  servant  whom  we  had  sent  down  to  Bangkok  after  money 
and  supplies,  and  had  put  him,  his  wife,  and  all  the  boatmen 
to  death.  That  rumour  was  currently  believed  here,  and  we 
had  so  many  questions  asked  us  about  th(^ni  by  pers^oiis  in 
high  and  in  low  station,  that  we  were  constrained  almost  to 
believe  it.  And  if  that  had  been  done,  we  knew  not  what 
would  cnnie  next.  Of  course  we  had  serious  apprehensions 
regarding  our  own  safety ;  yet  our  duty  was  clear.  However 
dangerous  our  position,  we  felt  that  flight  would  be  more 
dangerous.  .  .  .  Our  strength  was  to  sit  still.  .  .  . 

"  After  waiting  a  month  in  suspense  about  our  servants, 
we  have  just  learned,  on  pretty  good  authority,  that  they  were 
not  murdered.  They  have  been  reported  as  having  passed 
Raheng.  In  a  few  days  we  shall  know  the  truth.  If  ihey 
are  safe,  our  greatest  fears  were  gioundless.  We  wait  to  see 
the  Lord's  purpose  in  reference  to  this  people.  We  yet  be- 
lieve they  arc  purposes  of  mercy.  The  excitement  has  some- 
what died  down,  and  we  have  daily  many  visitors.  But  there 
is  great  fear  of  the  authorities.  No  one  feels  safe;  no  one 
knows  what  will  come  next." 

I  quote  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Wilson  to  the  Board  the 
followinji  account  of  the  sufTcring  and  death  of  the 
martyrs,  written  January  'M,  1870,  after  all  the  various 
mmours  had  been  sifted,  and  the  facts  were  clearly 
known.  Meantime  the  ronnnission  referred  to  in  the 
letter  of  Dr.  House  had  come,  and  this  letter  was 
brought  to  Bangkok  by  it  on  its  return.  This  letter 
and  the  one  cited  jast  above  were  printed  in  the  For- 
eign Missionary  for  March  and  for  May,  1870. 


114   AMOX*    I  HE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

"Till  withii,  ,1  very  ^liurt  titnc  licforc  tlicir  pxccuI icm,  we 
liad  no  :ii)|>rrli('ii-ii)ii  tliat  iin.v  scTion-  ohvtnclc  wnuld  bt 
thrown  in  tlic  way  of  tin,'  Liio  Im  c cniinf;'  C'liri^lians.  All  the 
baptisms  had  taken  place  publicly.  The  number,  and  some 
of  the  names,  of  the  Christians  had  been  given  in  answer 
to  questions  knl  hy  the  yoiuiBcr  daughter  of  the  kinj,', 
and  by  others  of  royal  blood.  We  had  become  conviuced 
that  til"  kiua  must  know  that  some  of  his  people  had  become 
(iiscijilirf  of  Josus.  His  two  (lau}i:litcrs  liad  assured  Mr. 
5Ic(iilvary  that  no  one  should  bo  niokstcd  for  becoming 
Christians.  With  sui'Ii  an  a~-urance  fmni  the  highest 
princesses  in  the  land,  we  tiattered  ourselves  that  the  king 
would  tolerate  Christianit.y.  The  fearlessness,  also,  with 
which  all  but  Xan  f'liai  piolV-sod  Clirist.  niado  us  fool  that 
there  was  uo  danger  to  ilic  life  of  any  one  who  had  received 
baptism. 

"  Nan  Chai,  however,  seemed  anxious.  Some  two  months 
before  his  baptism  he  rojuested  us  to  write  to  Bangkok  and 
get  the  King  of  Siani  to  make  proclamation  of  religious 
toleration.  Not  a  month  before  his  baptism  he  a-sked  me,  '  If 
the  king  should  call  me  and  ask,  "  Are  you  a  disciple  of 
Jesus?"  would  it  bo  wrong  to  say  "  Xo"^'  \Yp  kiiow  that 
for  some  time  he  had  lovod  the  Saviour,  but  ho  \va~  follow- 
ing Ilini  tninlilingly.  His  position  as  ovorsoiT  (ex-abbot) 
of  the  monastery  made  his  renunciation  of  Buddhism  a 
more  noticeable  event,  and  rendered  him  more  liable  to  pci- 
secution  than  >ouio  the  otliors.  I  may  here  state  that 
those  who.  afti  r  leaving  the  monastery,  are  appointed  over- 
seers of  th(»  t(  ni|ili\  are.  by  virtue  of  their  position.  cxem{)t 
from  the  call  of  their  masters  to  do  goTernmont  work,  i'an 
Chai  belonged  to  this  class.  Tlis  resignation  of  this  post 
wlii  ii  he  bocanif  a  ('liri-tian.  both  provi'd  liis  sincerity,  and 
made  him  a  mark  for  Buddliist  hate  and  reproach. 

"  Noi  Sunya's  work  was  to  tend  the  king's  cattle,  and  in 
this  way  he  perfonnod  his  share  of  public  service.  He  also 
worki^l  a  farm,  and  was  a  physician.  Ho  v., is  of  a  genial 
disposition  and  flu  orfui  tomjier.  alwa.vs  looking  on  the  bright 
side  of  life,  hapi)y  himself,  and  trying  to  make  others  happy. 
He  was  thus  a  general  favourite.  His  receptiou  of  the 
truth  was  hearty  and  childlike.   How  his  face  beamed  with 


MAUTYKDOM 


115 


jny  thiit  coiiiniimion  Sahhatli!  Next  day,  Monday,  Sep- 
tember 6tli,  iiboiit  noon,  he  started  for  his  walk  of  nine 
miles  across  the  phiin  to  Me  Po  Ka.  In  bidding  him  pood- 
bye  we  little  thought  we  should  see  his  face  no  more. 

"  Our  teacher.  Nan  Chai.  came  in  the  following  Thursday, 
somewhiit  sa^t  lircausc  tbr  head  man  of  his  vilhige  was  urging 
him  for  some  goverunieiit  work  aud  supplies  tliat  were  then 
being  raised  for  the  army.  After  resigning  the  oversight  of 
the  temple,  bcitig  virtually  without  a  master,  he  had  come  in 
to  the  city  to  put  himself  under  the  king's  younger  daugh- 
ti  T.  On  Satiinhiy  moniiiig.  llie  11th,  she  gave  him  his  pro- 
tection papery,  for  which  he  paid  the  usual  three  rupees. 
Some  ten  days  before,  when  Mr.  McGilvary  had  called  with 
him  in  reference  to  this  matter,  he  had,  at  the  princess' 
re<i  ..'st,  made  a  statement  of  iiis  Christian  faith,  even  to 
the  repeating  of  a  prayer. 

"  On  that  same  Saturday  afternoon  a  message  came  from 
the  head  man  of  the  village  for  NSn  Chai's  immediate  return 
home.  The  message  was  so  urgent  tliat  he  concluded  not  to 
wait  for  the  aeeustonu-d  Sabhalli  morning  worship.  Knowing 
that  there  was  a  disposition  on  tlie  iiart  of  some  of  the 
public  ofiiccrs  to  find  fault  with  the  Christians,  I  thought  it 
best  for  him  to  go  home,  and  not  return  to  us  till  quiet 
should  be  restored.  He  seemed  very  sad,  and  said  that  hia 
master  was  disposed  to  oppress  him.  All  that  I  could  say  did 
not  rouse  him  from  his  depression.  He  took  leave  of  us 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night.  When  we  awoke  on  Sabbath 
morning,  he  was  gone.  We  know  now  that  shortly  after 
the  princess  had  given  him  her  letters  of  protection  on 
Saturday  morning,  she  despatched  a  messenger  to  the  head 
man  of  the  village  ordering  Nan  Chai's  arrest.  Imagine 
that  Sabbath  morning's  walk  of  nearly  nine  miles,  much  of 
the  way  through  water  nearly  knee-deep!  Dear  gentle 
heart,  full  of  earc  and  fear! 

"  He  reached  home  about  noon.  After  dinner  he  called 
upon  the  head  man  of  the  village;  but  no  one  knew  the 
nature  of  the  conference.  Ho  was  pi  rmitte<l  to  slcpp  at 
home  that  night.  Next  morning  came  the  order  from  the 
chief  man  of  the  district  for  the  overseers  of  the  temples 
and  those  doing  the  king's  own  work  to  appear  at  his  house. 


116  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


This  order  inoliiilfd,  of  cnurse,  both  our  brethren,  Noi  Sun.va 
and  Nan  Chai.  Hut  to  make  their  attendance  douuty  sure, 
armed  men  were  sent  with  clubs  and  pikes  to  conduct  them 
to  the  appointed  rendezvous.  Noi  Sunya  took  leave  of  his 
wife  and  six  children  in  tears.  He  knew  what  that  call 
and  those  clubs  and  spears  meant.  When  tliey  roachcil  tlic 
hoa.^e  of  the  district  chief,  tiioy  found  a  large  armed  force 
ready  to  receive  them.  When  arrested  at  their  homes 
they  had  been  cliarged  with  refusing  to  do  the  kinp's  work. 
But  now  Nan  Thai  was  asked.  '  Are  you  an  overseer  of  a 
temple?'  He  answered,  'I  was,  but  am  not  now.'  'Have 
you  entered  the  religion  of  the  foreigners?'  'Yes.'  Noi 
Sunya  was  asked  the  same  question,  to  which  he  also  an- 
swered '  Yes.' 

"  Tliey  were  then  .seized,  and  after  further  examination 
were  told  that  they  had  been  condemned  to  death.  While 
Nan  CLai  was  giving  the  reason  of  the  faith  that  was  in 
him,  one  of  the  examiners  kicked  him  in  the  eye.  leaving 
it  bloodshot  and  causing  it  to  swell  till  the  eye  was  closed. 
The  arms  of  the  prisoners  were  tied  behind  their  backs. 
Their  tiecks  were  compressed  between  two  pieces  of  timber 
(the  death-.yokc)  tied  before  and  behind  so  tightly  as  pain- 
fully to  impede  both  respiration  and  the  circulation  of  the 
blood.  They  were  thus  placed  in  a  s'tting  posture  near  a 
wall,  and  cords  were  passed  through  the  holes  in  their  ears 
and  tied  to  a  beam  above.  In  this  constrained  and  painful 
position — not  able  to  turn  their  heads  or  bow  them  in  slum- 
bei^they  remained  from  Monday  afternoon  till  Tuesday 
morning  about  ten  o'clock,  when  they  were  led  out  into  the 
jungle  and  executed. 

"  When  NSn  Chai  was  arrested,  his  wife  started  on  a  run 
to  inform  us,  suppdsing  that  he  woulil  be  brought  to  the 
city  to  undergo  a  regular  trial.  In  that  case  she  hoped  the 
missionaries  could  ensure  his  release.  She  had  arrived  in 
sight  of  our  house,  when  a  messenger  from  the  bead  man 
of  the  village  overtook  her,  and  informed  her  that  if  she 
called  nn  us,  it  would  be  at  the  risk  of  her  life.  She  re- 
turned immediately,  to  join  him  at  the  district  chief's  house; 
but  was  informed  that  if  she  made  the  least  demonstration 
of  grief,  she  too  would  be  put  to  death-   She  sat  down  by 


MARTYKDOM 


her  husband  for  a  time.  They  conversed  together  as  oppor- 
tunity offered,  being  narrowly  watched  by  the  merciless 
guard.  The  prisoners  botli  said.  '  Oh.  if  the  rniasionaries 
were  here,  we  should  not  have  to  die!'  Nan  Chai's  last 
words  to  his  wife  were,  'Tell  the  missionaries  that  we  die 
for  no  iither  cause  than  that  we  a.e  Christians.'  One  of  the 
guards  angrily  asked  what  he  had  said.  She  saw  that  it  was 
best  for  her  to  retire,  and  they  parted. 

"  When  Nan  Chai  knew  that  he  and  his  comrade  were 
doomed,  he  said  to  one  of  the  officers,  *  You  will  kill  us;  we 
are  prepared.  But  T  beg  you  not  to  kill  those  who  are  in 
the  employ  of  the  missionaries.  They  are  not  Christians, 
and  are  not  prepared  to  die.'  What  a  triumph  of  faith  in 
this  once  fearful  disciple!  What  a  noble  forgetfulness  of 
self  in  that  earnest  request  for  the  lives  of  others! 

"  And  now,  after  a  long  and  weary  night  of  painful 
watching,  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  tlie  14th,  dawns  upon 
them.  The  hour  is  come.  They  are  led  out  into  the  lonely 
jungle.  They  kneel  down.  Nan  Chai  is  asked  to  prny.  He 
does  so,  his  last  petition  being,  '  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my 
spirit.'  The  tenderness  of  tlic  scene  melts  his  enemies  to 
tears.  The  heads  of  the  prisoners — prisoners  for  Jesus' 
sake— are  drawn  back  by  slightly  raising  the  cruel  yoke  they 
have  worn  for  mon  than  twenty  hours.  The  executioner 
approaches  with  his  club.  Nan  Chai  receives  the  stroke  on 
the  front  of  the  neck.  His  body  sinks  to  the  ground  a  corpse. 
.  .  ,  Noi  Sunya  receives  upon  the  front  of  his  neck  five  or 
six  strokes;  but  life  is  still  not  extinct.  A  spear  is  thrust  into 
his  heart.  Ilis  body  is  bathed  in  blood,  and  his  spirit  joins 
that  of  his  martyred  brother.  Their  bodies  were  hastily 
buried.    Their  graves  we  may  not  yet  visit.  .  .  . 

"  Only  a  few  days  before  his  death  Nan  Chai  wrote,  at 
Mrs.  Wilson's  request,  a  little  slip  which  she  forwarded  to  her 
friends  as  a  specimen  of  the  Lao  language.  The  last  line — 
the  last,  no  doubt,  that  he  ever  wrote — contained  the  fol- 
lowing words  'NSn  Chai  dai  rap  pen  sit  leo.  Hak  Yeau 
nak'  (Nan  Chai  haa  bectnne  a  disciple.  He  loves  Jesoi 
much)." 


THE  ROYAL  COMMISSION 

Al-rFK  tlu'  .IcsiKil.l.  of  ..ur  luinied  notes  by  the 

1\  ,„„ably  MU-e  that  our  fnHuls  wouM  1  •      •  ^ 
„,,vs  „r  onr  silna.iun.  an.l  w.'  were  in  a  im-asuic  it 
at  tha.  .i.ne  we  stiU  believed  the  repor  « 

reports,  whuh  we  l.a.l  jus,  heard  belu,..  ^ 

,.v  the  l'.uru,ese,  thai  caused  the  f^rcat 
n  iet  V  expressed  in  thou.    But  though  we  pouj^  <  ut 
nnp  hearts  and  unburdened  our  fears  to  oui  liundM, 
ro^::^n>ien.nu,i  outside  of  our  two  fan^Uj^e^^ 
k„ew  the  fear    that  aj^itated  our  breasts.    For  two 
ul.hs  or  n..re  we  stUl  feared,  that  we^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
treacherously  nmrdere.l  under  eo  our  ns  tl  -u^l    <  re 
done  hv  robbers  or  .la.  nils.    \N  e  kne^s  not  on  l.N.ng 
down  at  ni«ht  what  u.i.iu  happen  before  dawn. 
'7)ne  of  the  hardest  things  of  the  ^i';':;--         '  J 
^r^  the  presenee  of  i'ur  own  dear  cbddren,  felt 
°,    Ml     >    poak  to  each  other  of  these  -atters  by 
«  r  alone,  siuee  it  seemed  wise  to  conceal  our  fea  s 
om  Irn    When  we  had  native  eallers.  or  m  our 
X  to  the  natives,  we  preaehed  to  then,  just  as^ 
;;,t,.in.  had  hapi>ened.    Souu-  tl-t  -  know  were 
scut  as  spies  (.»  see  what  we  were  doing  and  what  we 
;:ere  plaining  lo  do.  ba.l  u.-tbiu.  to  report  except  the 
(l<,spel  u.essa^je  whieh  they  had  heard 

tLu  ..as  the  time  when  a  few  tried  friends  en 


THE  ROYAL  COMMISSION  119 

(Icarcd  themselves  fnic-.n-  to  us.  Ai:i(.n-;  thesT  was 
(lie  IM- iiiess  Ufn  Kaiii,  and  the  abbot  of  the  Umong 
monastery,  both  of  whom  have  hotu  mentioned  before. 
The  silver  with  a  little  rice  or  fruit  from  the 

Trinci'ss  never  ceased  t<>  eonie;  and  the  abbot  often 
made  au  excuse  of  errands  elsewhere  in  our  neigh- 
bourhood that  he  mij;ht  have  ot.-asion  to  call  and  ex- 
l»res8  his  sympatliy. 

One  incident  wliich  occurred  before  :lie  various 
rumours  had  l»een  cleared  up,  lhouf;h  well  uit;h  tragic 
at  the  time,  Keemed  afterward  amusing  enough.  After 
the  appalling  treachery  of  the  younirer  dan;;liter  of 
the  Prince  in  regard  to  Nan  Chai,  while  professing 
constantly  such  personal  friendship  for  us,  we  natu- 
rally regarde<l  her  with  profound  distrust  W  hat,  then, 
was  our  surprise,  when,  one  nij,dit  in  the  darkest  time 
of  our  troubles,  a  summons  came  for  me  to  go  at  once 
to  her  palace  with  the  officer  who  brought  the  mes- 
sage. I  was  by  no  means  to  wait  till  morning,  and  I 
could  get  no  clue  to  the  object  of  the  summons.  Unt 
it  was  almost  a  royal  command.  Whatever  it  might 
mean,  nothing  would  be  gained  by  refusal ;  so  I  prom- 
ised at  once  to  go.  I'.ut  a  difficulty  arose.  My  wife 
I)ositively  refused  to  let  me  go  .  'one.  If  the  worst 
were  to  come,  she  would  be  there  to  see  it. 

So  the  children  were  left  in  bed,  and  off  we  walked 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  in  the  dark  to  the  palace.  We 
found  it  brilliantly  lighted  up.  Was  it  for  tlie  final 
act?  But  our  fears  were  soon  allayed.  The  Princess 
received  us  as  she  always  had  done— probably  a  little 
surprised  to  see  Mrs.  Mcdilvary  with  me.  A  foreign 
rug  was  spread  for  us,  and  soon  was  produced  a 
formidable  package  of  documents  in  English,  which 
the  Princess  wanted  us  to  translate!  They  were  from 


120  AMONO  TUi:  SIAMKSi:  AND  TnE  LAO 


the  court  in  Miiiilmcin,  ;ith1  hiid  rpfcrpmo  to  the  liiw- 
suits.  Tlip^  had  just  arrived,  and  she  could  not  wait 
till  morning.  We  glanced  over  them,  gave  ber  the 
suhstiincc  nf  them,  and  pmniisod  that  if  she  would 
send  her  .scribe  down  next  dav,  we  would  translate 
them.  She  was  relieved  to  find  that  there  was  nothing 
more  formidalile  in  them— and  so  were  we.  The  whole 
interview  did  not  last  more  tiian  (ifteon  minutes;  and 
when  ready  to  return,  we  were  escorted  home  by 
servants  with  lanterns. 

For  a  time  wo  had  verv  few  visitors  even  for  medi- 
cine. Hut  the  monasteries  were  always  open,  and  we 
were  welcomed  in  nearly  all  the  homes  of  the  princes. 
I  regularly  called  on  the  Prince.  When  he  was  in  a 
pleasant  'iiood,  I  had  pleasant  conversations  with  him. 
If  I  found  him  moody  or  bu.e;  '  paid  my  respects  and 
retired.  His  elder  daughter  J  ber  husband  were 
always  pleasant,  and  she  was  always  interested  to  talk 
on  the  subject  of  ivligion. 

Another  friendship  formed  the  year  before  was  then 
a  great  comfort  to  us,  though  no  one  could  really  help 
us.  .V  wealthy  rhinese,  who  hac  harge  of  collecting 
nearly  all  the  revenue  of  the  •  vernraent,  had  been 
shot  in  the  city  of  Lampiin,  eighteen  miles  away.  A 
messenger  witli  an  elephant  was  sent,  begging  me  to 
come  at  once.  It  seemed  at  first  impossible  for  me 
to  go,  but  finally  I  did  so.  The  ball  had  entered  be- 
low the  linee  while  the  man  was  lying  down,  bad  fol- 
lowed the  bone,  and  had  lodged  in  the  soft  part  of  the 
thigh.  It  was  extracted,  and  I  remained  there  till 
the  patient  was  out  of  danger.  The  wife,  a  Siamo- 
Chinese,  was  a  merchant,  and  acted  as  oar  banker  for 
ten  years.  At  this  writing,  the  family  has  not  yet 
forgotten  the  service  rendered. 


THE  ROYAL  COMMISSION  121 


Bat  oar  hoarlj  tboaghts  were  directed  to  Baogkok. 
What  would  be  the  outcome  of  our  letters?  We  were 
continually  nsked  what  we  were  jroing  to  do.  (Mir  re- 
ply was  that,  of  course,  we  intended  to  remain.  There 
was  no  telegraph  then,  nor  even  a  monthly  mail.  It 
was  not  till  Novemljer  26th  that  tlu-  llrst  news  of  what 
was  doing  in  our  behalf  reached  us.  It  was  brought 
by  messengers  sent  on  in  advance  to  notify  the  gov- 
ernment that  a  Rnyal  Commissioner  bad  arrived  in 
T-aniiifin,  with  two  foreigiicrs  and  a  train  of  figliteen 
elephants  and  llfty  three  attendants.  They  were  to  be 
in  Chiengmai  the  next  day.  No  intimation,  however, 
was  given  as  to  what  the  object  of  tlie  Commission  was. 
Hut  plainly  it  must  l>e  a  matter  of  no  slight  im- 
portance. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  every  one  was  on 

the  alert.  A  body  of  men  under  the  direction  of  an 
oflBcer  were  scrubbing  the  old  salu  next  door  to  us,  for 
the  letter  bad  asked  that  preparations  be  made  for 
the  party.  A  prince  whispered  in  our  ears  to  enquire 
whether  we  knew  what  the  "  Kfi  Luang"  was  coming 
for.  But  we  knew  as  little  as  he  did.  We  were  so 
hopeful,  however,  that  we  began  to  prepare  for  our 
guests,  too.  The  whole  place  seemed  in  an  attifude  of 
expectancy.  The  sudden  arrival  of  a  Ka  Luang  was 
not  an  everyday  occurrence.  And  then  the  two  for- 
eigners— two  "  white  kolas  " ! 

In  the  afternoon  the  curiosity  of  every  one  was  grati- 
fied by  the  arrival  of  the  long  train  with  the  Commis- 
sioner at  its  head.  The  two  "  white  kolfts  "  were  none 
other  than  our  associates  in  the  Siamese  mission,  the 
Rev.  N.  A.  M(Hnnald,  and  the  Hcv.  S.  C.  Oeorge. 
Were  ever  guests  more  welcome  I  The  story  was  soon 
told  of  the  receipt  of  our  letters  in  Bangkok,  and  of  the 


I'J'J   AM<I.N<i  Tin:  SIAMi'.Si:  ANh  Till:  l-AO 


negotiations  wliioli  liii«l  icHiiiled  iu  (bcir  toiiiinj;  with 
a  Koynl  f'omml»(«IontT  and  with  a  "  Golden  Heal,"  M 
the  royal  letter  in  <  jilh  d.  \V»-  now  know  di'llnilely  that 
the  ('uinmissioucr  litnl  nmu'  mi  (lie  Imsiin  ss  of  the  mls- 
Hioii  iiittl  I  he  (ivaliiifnl  of  iIm-  Clirisiiaus.  iiiit  <tur 
brethren  did  not  know  the  eontentH  of  the  royal  letter. 
No  huiiiJiii  sa^':i(i"v  <(.iil(l  yrt  piciiicl  wlial  liiiii  at" 
fails  would  lake.  Was  the  laissiou  to  be  sfiinvly 
established,  or  were  we  to  be  eHcorte<l  safely  out  of  the 
country?  The  Coniniissioner  immediately  nolitlod  the 
I'liiicc  nl"  Iiis  anival  with  (lie  "(inUlen  Seal,"  and 
awaited  His  llighuess'  pleasure.  The  I'rimes  euri 
osity  and  anxiety  were  frnorantee  that  there  would  be 
no  ilcla.v.  Nine  (»'<  l(»c'k  next  morning  was  nanieo  as 
(he  hoar  l«ir  the  aiidien<e.  The  Commissioner  imtilied 
us  to  be  ready.  An  otlieer  was  sent  With  a  palanquin 
to  escort  the  "  Golden  Seal "  under  the  golden  umbrella 
to  llie  palace. 

Mr.  Wilson  and  I,  of  course,  joined  the  proression. 
On  reaching  the  grand  reieption  hall  at  the  palace,  we 
encountered  such  an  array  of  princely  state  as  we  had 
never  Ix'fure  seen  aiioiij:  the  Lao.  livery  prince, 
jaiuce.ss,  and  ollicer  who  could  coiae  was  already  there. 
I  quote  from  Mr.  McDonald's  olHclal  report  to  the 
Board,  dated  IVhruarv  'Jd,  1S70,  an  account  of  the  audi- 
ence.   (I'nshi/tcii<iit  h\cord,  June,  1870.) 

"  The  next  morning  after  our  arrival  the  Regent's  letter 
was  conducted  in  state  to  the  palace  under  the  royal  umbrella, 

oiiil  the  p'ldcii  triiy  contaiiiiiijr  it  was  placed  on  a  stand 
near  the  middle  of  the  hall.  Very  soon  the  king  eiitcreti  tiic 
hall  apparently  calm,  but  pale  with  sui)prcs8ed  rage.  Wo 
arose  and  bowed  to  him,  and  then  resumed  our  seats.  The 
Siamese  (;fficers,  however,  remainci  .'ostrato  before  him, 
us  dill  every  otluT  one  in  tlic  hall.  I  lir  kit::^  imiiu'iliat.'ly 
broke  the  seal  and  handed  the  letter  to  the  Siamese  aec- 


THE  ROYAI.  rOMMIRSION 


123 


n-tnry  to  rond.  Aftor  tin  rending  of  tlip  litter  he  lookwl 
lip.  I'vi'lmtlv  (|nili-  rclii  vcil,  iiii'l  n  iniirkfil,  '  Tlii-*  Irttcr  iIihm 
nut  amount  to  sd  luucli.  It  givt's  the  niissionuriL-H  privilcgu 
to  remain  if  they  wish,  or  to  po  if  they  prefer.' " 

Mr.  Mrltouiilil,  then,  «s  a  iiifiiilH'r  nT  lh»'  ("(iiiuui!*- 
sion,  nddrt'Hued  the  King,  refen  iiit,'  In  the  kindnofiH  with 
which  the  niissiouiiiieH  had  iK-rii  nrciMil  h.v  him  uq 
iIkmi-  iirriviil  wliirli  w  iis  in  l,n  |iiiiL,'  will'  the  fm  >t3r 
siiown  them  in  IJiinjjivok,  iinti  w  ilii  the  heiii'tireul  naliire 
of  their  work — hut  regretting  that  lute  diftfeultieH  bud 
made  their  stay  unpleasant.  Annrntr  olln  r  ihings  he 
referred  to  tlie  dcsertidii  of  their  xtvmiIs.  I'.iit  nt'ither 
he  nor  the  royal  letter  iiiati*'  tl.  Ilglite  t  iifiivnce 
to  the  murder  of  the  Cbristian^.  Mr.  Mcrhmald  thm 
proceeds : 

"What  I  said  did  not  swm  ti>  mu^f  lum.  Ilf  ii.iaiiiiitd 
to  suppress  his  rage,  and  repliid,  •  t.i  -ervnnts,  he  had 
never  placed  any  hindrance.  He  hud  imiI  ro  dcnth  a  couple 
'if  fclliiW: — a  fliiiij,'  wliicil  lie  liiid  11  riijlit  t"  dn,  iiicc  llii  v 
had  tailed  to  do  their  allotted  govcrnnieiit  work.  But  that 
was  his  own  biminess.'  " 

The  I'riiue  evidcnily  thdiight  thai  flu-  all'air  was 
ended,  and  was  preparing  to  close  tlie  audience,  greatly 
relieved  llial  llie  (.ne  dreaded  pnltit  li:id  not  hn'ti  rc- 
ferre«l  to  either  iu  the  letter  or  in  the  conference.  ISut 
to  stop  there  would  have  heen  an  inexeuHuhle  blunder 
on  our  part.  Not  only  liad  the  good  name  of  the  Chris- 
tians  iH'eu  tai  nislied.  Imt  oiir  o\\  !i  also,  if  we  had 
riiade  all  this  yreat  fuss  ahout  noiliii  ^.  It  was  a  dif- 
ficult thing  to  face  the  T'rince  !>ef<ire  his  whole  conrt, 
and  char^i-  him  wiiii  falsehood;  liul  he  had  driven  us 
to  it.  If  he  li:i  1  not  Med.  we  had.  l-'or  once  we  were 
called  upon  to  stand  hefore  kings  lor  llis  name's 


124  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


sake  J  and  I  believe  that  words  were  given  to  me  to 
speak. 

I  said  that  I  was  sorry  to  ha  coiniKjlled  to  say  that 
the  Prince  knew  that  he  had  not  spoken  the  truth. 
There  was  not  a  man  or  woman  in  that  audience,  nor 
in  the  whole  country,  who  did  not  know  that  those  two 
men  had  been  put  to  death  for  no  other  pretended 
reason  than  that  they  were  Christians.   It  was  done 
and  was  proclaimed  to  be  done  as  a  warning  to  others. 
They  had  not  refused  to  do  goveinment  work.  The 
charge  that  they  had  failed  to  get  the  slabs  for  the 
stockade  was  a  subterfuge.   There  was  not  a  word  of 
truth  in  it,  as  the  oiBcer  through  whom  it  was  done, 
then  present,  well  knew.    When  these  men  received 
the  order  to  get  the  slabs,  they  started  immediately, 
but  were  at  once  arrested,  and  were  not  allowed  to 
get  them.   In  no  sense  were  they  dealt  with  as  crim- 
inals.   On  that  very  day  (over  three  months  after  the 
order),  not  one-fifth  of  the  men  in  the  province  had  as 
yet  brought  in  their  timbers,  and  nothing  was  said 
about  it.   In  this  country  it  was  an  unheard-of  thing, 
even  for  the  gravest  offences,  to  decoy  men  out  from 
their  homes  into  the  jungle,  and  to  kill  them  there  with 
no  pretence  of  a  trial.   There  was  a  Sanftm  (Conrt), 
there  were  regular  offlcei-s  of  law,  evi-n  down  to  the 
executioner.    In  the  case  of  these  men,  not  a  single 
form  of  law  had  been  observed.   By  the  Prince's  own 
order  they  had  been  treacherously  arrested,  led  out  into 
the  jungle,  and  cruelly  clubbed  to  death  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  lawless  mob  by  a  ruffian  hired  to  do  it. 

The  old  man  looked  on  me  in  miugled  astonishment 
and  rage.  Possibly  till  then  he  thought  we  had  not 
been  able  to  learn  the  facts  and  particulars  in  the  case. 
More  likely  be  thought  that  no  one  would  dare  thus 


THE  ROYAL  COMMISSION 


125 


openly  and  publicly  to  expose  them.  But  what  was 
said  had  the  desired  effect  Up  to  this  point  the 
Prince's  position  bad  heea  impregnable.  To  assault  it 
successfully  would  have  required  the  p-^duction  of 
evidence;  and  no  man  in  the  country,  high  or  low, 
would  have  dared  to  testify  against  him.  Bat  this  nn- 
expected  challenge  was  more  than  he  could  endure. 
He  flung  all  caution  to  the  winds.  In  an  instant  his 
sole  defence  was  abandoned.   Mr.  McDonald  says: 

" '  Yes,'  he  said,  '  he  had  killed  them  because  they  had 
embraced  the  Christiar  religion.  And  he  would  continue 
to  kill  every  one  who  did  the  same.  Leaving  the  religion 
of  the  country  was  rebellion  against  him,  and  he  would  so 
treat  it.  If  the  missionaries  would  remain  to  treat  the 
sick,  they  might  dc,  so.  But  they  must  not  make  Christians; 
they  must  not  teach  the  Christian  religion.  If  they  did, 
he  would  expel  them  from  the  country'  ...  At  one  time 
I  feared  that  he  might  become  oncontroUable.  and  break 
over  all  restraints,  and  do  us  some  personal  injury.  The 
Siamese  officer  also  was  alarmed  for  our  safety." 

Matters  now  had  been  brought  to  a  crisis.  The 

Christians  had  been  proved  to  be  not  malefactors,  but 
martyrs.  We  now  understood  each  other,  and  all 
I)arties  understood  the  situation.  The  Prince's 
bravado  before  the  Commissioner  in  one  sense  was 
prdltie.  He  had  read  betweoi  the  lines  of  the  King's 
letter  that  the  Siamese  were  afraid  of  him;  and  he 
was  quite  willing  to  have  it  so.  On  the  other  hand,  his 
attitude  might  have  the  effect  of  convincing  them  that 
ho  wns  a  dangerous  man,  to  be  dealt  with  accordingly 
— and  I  believe  it  did. 

But,  as  Mr.  McDonald  goes  on  to  say,  **  It  was  use- 
less to  attempt  any  further  argument.  The  mission- 
aries merely  told  him  that  it  was  their  intention  to 


126  AMONG  THE  SiAMESE  AND  TUB  LAO 

remain.  Tlic  conversation  *lien  turned  to  other  sub- 
jects, and  the  IMineo  became  more  calm.  After  re- 
tnminp:  to  the  house  of  Mr.  McGilvary,  and  after 
unxious  ((insiillalidii  and  iiraycr,  it  wap  considered 
best  to  abandon  the  mission  for  a  time." 

The  Commissioner  strongly  advised  us  to  withdraw. 
Mr.  McDonald  was  naturally  timid,  and  hardly  felt 
safe  till  he  was  fairly  out  nf  the  country,  lie  and  Mr. 
George  were  sure  that  it  would  not  be  safe  for  us  to 
remain  a  single  day  after  the  Commissioner  departed ; 
and  Mr.  Wilson  agreed  with  them.  Such,  then,  was 
the  report  made  to  the  Board,  and  the  number  of  t'le 
Record  from  which  we  have  quoted  above  announced 
the  dissolution  of  the  mission. 

The  news  (if  the  scene  in  the  palace  spread  Iikc  wild- 
fire over  the  city.    We  had  scarcely  reached  home  when 
our  neighbours  and  friends  began  to  send  us  secret 
messages  that  it  would  be  foolish  to  remain.  The 
Prince  was  like  a  I'on  bearded  in  his  den.    When  the 
Commissioner  left  there  was  no  telling  what  he  might 
do.   The  Commissioner  naturally  felt  some  responsi- 
bility for  our  safety,  and  desired  to  have  ns  return  with 
him.    I  so  far  consented  as  to  allow  the  Commissioner 
to  send  word  to  the  Prince  that  we  would  retire  as 
soon  as  we  conveniently  could.   Yet,  from  what  I  knew 
of  the  feeling  of  the  people  toward  us,  I  could  not  see 
that  it  was  the  will  of  Providence  that  the  mission 
should  be  abandoned.   Nor  did  I  believe  that  it  would 
be  hazardous  to  remain.   The  Prince  evidently  had  no 
thoufjiit  of  actiinlly  renouncin;:;  his  allegiance  to  Siam. 
He  had  been  directed  to  see  to  our  safety,  if  we  wished 
to  remain.   I  think,  too,  that  I  understood  him  better 
tlinn  did  cither  oiir  own  friends  or  the  ("ommissicmer. 
His  bluster  at  the  audience  was  for  ellect.    It  was 


THE  ROYAL  COMMISSION  127 


more  than  probable  that,  after  sober  thought,  he  him- 
self would  realize  that  he  Lad  roup  too  far.  Before 

the  cominf?  of  the  Coinmissionor  he  liad  bwn  summoned 
to  Bangkok;  he  was  at  that  time  busy  preparing  boats 
for  the  journey,  and  was  soon  to  start.  He  was  too 
shrewd  a  man  to  wish  us  to  ai)i)car  there  before  him 
as  witnesses  against  him.  It  was,  I  thought,  more 
than  probable  that  he  would  meet  more  than  half- 
way any  advance  made  toward  him,  though  we  could 
not  expect  him  to  make  the  ndvanee  liimself. 

Next  morning  before  breakfast  Mr.  Wilson  came 
over  to  have  a  long  walk  and  talk  with  me.  He  did 
not  wish  to  express  his  fears  before  our  children.  He 
argued  with  all  liis  logic  that  it  was  better  to  go  while 
we  safely  could.  His  idea  was  (o  retire  to  Kaheug, 
where  we  would  be  under  the  direct  protection  of  the 
Siamese  government;  for,  after  yestei day's  seem',  he 
was  sure  we  never  could  be  safe  in  Chiengmai.  So  far 
as  he  was  concerned,  I  thought  it  a  good  idea.  He 
might  go,  and  I  would  remain— at  least  as  loug  as  I 
could.  He  felt,  lutwever.  that  he  would  be  to  blame 
if  any  disaster  happened  to  us.  From  all  responsibil- 
ity on  that  score  I  freely  exonerated  him.  As  I  viewed 
the  case,  our  personal  risk  was  at  an  end  so  soon  as 
the  situation  siiould  be  known  in  Iiangk(»k.  The 
Prince  would  no  longer  dare  either  to  do  anything  or 
to  cause  anything  to  be  done  secretly,  as  once  we 
feared  he  would.  Therefovo,  notwithstanding  the 
bluster  of  the  day  lK>fore.  fear  for  our  personal  safety 
had  little  weight  with  me.  But  quite  apart  from  the 
question  of  danger,  there  was  much  to  be  said  in  favour 
of  Mr.  Wilson's  going  to  Itaheng.  The  place  was  an 
important  one  for  missionary  work.  The  result  might 
possibly  be  a  station  in  both  places,  instead  of  in 


128  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TIIi:  LAO 


Cliiengmai  alone.    His  departure  might  seem  some 
concession  to  the  wishes  of  the  Prince— would  show 
less  determination  to  thwart  his  known  will.  If 
there  wjre  any  danger  in  reuminiug,  it  would  be  less 
for  one  family  than  for  two.   All  1  wanted  was  time 
to  see  the  Lord's  will.   At  any  rate,  I  was  not  willing 
to  depart  without  having  an  audience  with  the  Priuce 
alone.    Against  this  it  was  urged  that  the  Prince  had 
a  special  grudge  against  me,  because  of  the  vaccination 
of  his  little  grandson,  and  that  this  would  be  increased 
by  my  having  angered  him  the  day  before.  Tint  of  this 
I  was  not  afraid.   The  parents  of  the  dear  child  had 
begged  me  never  to  think  that  they  blamed  me  for  it. 
As  to  what  had  happened  the  day  before,  I  believed 
the  Prince's  respect  for  ine  was  higher  tlian  it  would 
have  been  had  1  allowed  him  to  bluff  us  with  his  bare 
faced  lie.   The  result  of  our  walk  was  that  Mr.  Wilson 
agreed  to  have  me  call  on  the  Prince  the  uext  <lay, 
though  Mr.  McDonald  maintained  that  for  himself  he 
would  not  risk  it. 

So,  next  morning,  I  called  at  the  palace  at  an  hour 
when  I  knew  I  should  find  the  Prince  alone  with  his 
head-wife.  And,  just  as  I  expected,  he  received  me 
with  unwonted  cordiality.  I  referred  to  the  friend- 
ship between  him  and  my  father-in-law,  Dr.  Bradley; 
to  his  cordial  consent  j^iven  to  our  coming  to  his  coun- 
try to  teach  the  Christian  religion  and  to  benefit  his 
people  in  other  ways;  to  his  kind  reception  of  us  when 
we  came;  to  his  granting  us  a  place  for  a  home;  and 
to  his  many  other  acts  of  kindness.  We  had  come  to 
him  as  friends,  and  I  could  not  bear  we  should  part  as 
enemies.  As  I  had  anticipated,  his  whole  manner 
showed  that  he  was  pleased  at  my  iidviince.  That,  too, 
be  said,  was  his  desire.   We  might  remain  at  least  till 


THE  ROYAL  COMMISSION 


129 


after  his  return  from  Bangkok,  and  take  all  the  time 
needed  for  a  comfortable  departure.  I  thanked  him 
for  his  consideration,  and  told  him  that  Mr.  Wilson 
would  probalil.v  po  at  once.  We  shook  hands  and 
parted  as  if  the  scene  in  the  palace  had  never  occurred. 
I  had  won  my  point.  What  I  wanted  was  time,  and  I 
had  gained  it.  The  Prince  could  not  possibly  return 
in  less  than  six  months'  time — it  might  be  much  longer. 

In  a  few  days  our  friends  left  us.  Having  no  faith 
in  the  success  o^  my  new  negotiations,  or  possibly 
thinking  that  T  might  be  caught  in  a  trap,  they  re- 
ported to  the  Board)  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  mission 
was  broken  up — as  technically  it  was.  This  last  tnm 
of  affairs  was  merely  a  private  arrangemoit  between 
the  Prince  and  myself. 

Had  the  matter  not  passed  beyond  our  power,  I 
doubtless  should  have  been  credulous  enough,  or  weak 
enough,  to  prefer  that  no  further  action  should  be 
taken  by  our  friends  in  Bangkok.  I  did  write  to  Pr. 
Bradley  and  to  our  mission  to  pursue  a  pacific  policy, 
and  to  show  the  Prince  all  kindness,  as,  indeed,  I  knew 
they  would.  But  I  learned  afterwards  that  their  ad- 
vances were  hardly  received  with  courtesy.  Mr. 
George,  \  ho  asked  permission  to  send  by  some  one  of 
the  nunicrous  fleet  of  boats  some  parcels  to  us,  was 
given  to  understand  that  tlie  things  would  not  be 
needed,  as  the  Prince  expected  both  families  to  leave 
Ghiengmai  upon  his  return. 


XI 


DEATH  OP  KAWILOBOT 

THE  Coininissioner's  icitoit  of  the  attitude  as- 
sumed by  the  Prince  showed  the  Siamese  gov- 
ernment tluit  the  man  in  control  of  tlie  northern 
piovinci's  was  of     spirit  and  temper  tliat  might  be 
ditticult  to  curh-tliat  might  at  any  time  throw  every- 
thing into  confusion.   Hitherto  it  had  been  their  pol- 
ity to  stu'nfrllien  liis  lumds  to  any  defjree  not  incon- 
sistent with  his  loyalty.    Siam  and  Hurma  had  long 
been  rivals  and  enemies.   A  strong  buffer-state  in  the 
north  had  been  a  necessity  to  «iam.    Hnt  conditions 
were  elian«jed.    lUirma  was  now  under  English  control, 
and  had  iased  to  be  a  disturbing  factor  in  the  prob- 
lem.  A  change  in  Siamese  policy  as  regards  the  North 
was  inevitable. 

When  the  news  of  the  murder  of  the  Christians  be- 
came known  in  Bangkok,  our  friends  there  deferred  to 
the  wishes  of  the  Siamese  government  as  expressed  by 
the  I{e^'ent— whose  goodwill  to  the  mission  and  to  our- 
selves no  one  doubted.  No  steps,  therefore,  were  taken 
to  have  the  United  States  officially  represented  on  the 
Commission.  In  this  we  l>clieve  our  friends  were 
providentiailv  led.  I'.ut  l»r.  House's  letter  does  not 
state,  what  was  also  the  fact,  that  the  United  States 
(^onsul,  in  whose  presence  the  Lao  Prince  had  given 
his  official  sanction  to  the  establishment  of  the  mis- 
sion, was  anxious  that  the  United  States  should  be  so 

180 


DEATH  OF  KAWII.OKOT 


131 


reprpscntod.  An<l  when  that  ( 'iiniiiiisision  sd  signally 
failed  t«)  atx■olUllli^sh  auytliiiiy  satisiaftory,  it  was  the 
Consul's  tarn  to  say  to  our  friends,  "  I  told  you  so." 

lU'causc,  as  tlicy  tlu'insflvcs  cxprcssod  it,  of  the  law- 
less nature  nl  llie  Lao  Prime,  and  tlie  consequent  dif- 
ficulty of  protecting  foreigners  so  far  away,  our 
Biaoiese  friends  would  then  have  preferred  to  have  us 
recalled.  In  fact,  tiiat  was  their  tirst  thought.  Tlic 
first  draft  of  the  letter  prepared  to  be  sent  by  the  ('om- 
mission  actually  contained  the  stipulation  that  we  be 
safely  conveyed  back  to  Siani  proper.  It  was  only  the 
indomitable  perseverance  of  Dr.  Hradley— who  frankly 
declared  that  he  would  rather  have  no  such  letter  sent 
at  all — that  secured  the  omission  of  that  clause,  and 
left  tlie  way  oiicn  for  the  possible  continuance  of  the 
mission.  80,  when  the  Commission  i-eturned  to  Uang- 
kok,  and  it  was  known  that  the  Lao  Prince  was  soon 
to  follow  them,  General  Partridge,  the  United  States 
Consul,  iniinediately  took  up  the  case,  and  insisted 
that  tlie  Hiamese  government  give  guarantee  for  the 
fulfilment  of  promises  publicly  made  by  its  vassal  in 
the  presence  of  officials  of  both  governments.  "  Heforc 
this  you  could  say, '  lie  is  like  a  tiger  in  the  jungle;  we 
cannot  control  hini.'  But  when  he  reaches  Bangkok, 
he  is  in  your  power.  You  can  then  make  your  own 
terms  regarding  liis  return." 

ilow  this  negotiation  was  conducted,  1  am  not  aware. 
But  from  the  Presbyterian  Record  of  September,  1870, 
we  learn  that  the  Consul  carried  his  point: 

"  Dr.  House  sends  us  word  that  the  Siamese  goTernment 
hns  oxteiided  its  protection  over  the  missionaries  in  Chieng- 
niai :  they  are  not  to  be  iiiolostc.l  in  their  work.  As  the  king 
of  ('hie!ii;iiiai  is  trilrutary  to  Siani,  tliis  (Icci-^ioii  will  no 
doubt  be  respected.   This  king  is  not  likely  to  live  long,  and 


132    AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


tic  will  lie  siiwecdcil  by  bi^  son-iii-law.  a  prince  who  haa 
gbown  a  friendly  interest  in  the  raissionnrios.  The  interven- 
tion of  the  Siamese  government  was  obtained  by  the  U.  S. 
Conaul,  Oen.  Partridge,  not  at  the  instance  of  the  misaion- 
nriea,  but  he  took  the  ground  of  treaty  stipulations  between 
Siam  and  our  eoimtry,  which  accorded  the  right  of  pro- 
tection to  American  citizens." 

From  the  Foreign  Missionary  of  September,  1870, 
we  quote  the  following  extract  from  the  Bangkok  Sum- 
mary, doubtless  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Bradley: 

"  I  am  very  happy  to  learn  from  the  most  reliable  authority 
that  His  Grace  the  Repent  has  been  pleased  to  conmit  the 
American  citizens  in  Chiengmai  to  the  care  and  protec- 
tion of  the  Maha  Uparat,  the  son-in-law  of  the  king,  charging 
him  to  assist,  nourish,  and  protect  them  so  that  they  shall 
suffer  no  trouble  and  hindrance  in  their  work  from  persecu- 
tions like  those  through  which  they  have  passed  since  Sep- 
tember 12th  last. 

"  His  Grace,  moreover,  is  understood  to  have  promised  that 
he  will  certainly  arrange  to  have  those  American  citizens 
protected  in  Chiengmai  acc  ording  to  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaties,  even  though  the  present- king  should  live  and  con- 
tinue his  reign. 

"  The  Maha  Uparat  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  a  mild 
and  discreet  prince.  He  received  this  his  new  title  a  few 
weeks  since  from  His  Majesty  the  Supreme  King  of  Siam, 
by  virtue  of  which  he  is  con8tilute<l  Second  King  of  Chieng- 
mai. I  learn  that  Hia  Grace  the  Regent  has  virtually  com- 
mitted the  rule  of  that  kingdom  to  him  during  the  illneaa  of 
the  king,  and  has  assuicd  him  that  he  is  ultimately  to 
become  the  king's  successor  to  the  throne. 

"  This  I  regard  as  good  news,  indeed,  and  too  good  to 
be  held  a  day  longer  from  the  public.  Who  will  not  agree 
with  me  that  the  Siamese  government  is  worthy  of  a  great 
meed  of  praise  for  what  it  has  dotie  in  the  matter  of  the 
Chiengmai  mission  (  But  let  us  see  to  it  that  the  King  of 
Kings,  as  well,  receives  our  highest  praise  for  all  these 
gratifying  events  of  His  providence." 


i)i:ATn  OF  k\wil5rot 


133 


While  tlie  (,'onsul  was  [tresKiiig  these  cluiius,  Prince 
K&wilOrot,  as  was  intimated  in  the  last  extract,  be- 
came dangerously  ill.  H«'  was  Ktiii-ken  with  almost 
instantaneous  loss  of  conscionsucss,  and  complete 
paralysis  of  speech.  Meanwhile  we  in  Chieiigmai,  only 
five  hundred  miles  away,  were  in  profound  ignorance 
of  what  was  happening.  If  we  had  despatched  a  spe 
cial  messenger  thither  for  news,  it  would  i.ave  been 
three  months  before  be  could  have  returned  with  a  re- 
ply. And  the  first  news  we  received  was  not  reassur- 
inj^.  Word  i  :mie  that  the  time  was  set  for  the  Prince's 
return;  that  he  had  been  promoted  to  higher  honours, 
and  had  received  higher  titles;  that  he  was  retnming 
with  full  power,  and  probably  flushed  with  fresh  vie 
tories.  Of  course,  that  did  not  necessarily  mean  very 
much.  Siam  understood  perfectly  the  great  trick  of 
oriental  statecraft,  the  giving  of  high-sounding  titles, 
with,  perhaps,  a  larger  stipend,  in  comiiensation  for 
the  loss  of  real  power.  But  it  was  a  time  of  great 
anxiety  for  ns.  Revenge  was  a  passion  which  that 
man  seldom  left  ungratifled.  Would  he  come  breath- 
ing out  slaughter  against  the  church  and  vengeance 
on  us? 

By  and  by  there  came  a  message  stating  that  the 

Prince  was  ill,  and  directing  that  offerings  be  made  for 
his  recovery.  Then  came  news  that  he  was  already 
on  his  way,  and  had  sent  orders  for  a  hundred  ele- 
phants to  meet  him  at  the  landing  station  below  the 
rapids.  Some  surmised  that  his  illness  was  feigned 
in  order  to  escape  the  lawsuits  which  were  pressing 
him.  About  the  middle  of  June  we  learned  that  he 
had  reached  the  landing  station,  but  w^as  very  seriously 
ill.  It  was  still  more  urgently  enjoined  that  his  rela- 
tives and  the  monasteries  in  Chiengmai  should  "  make 


134   AMONli  TIIK  SIAMK-SIC  AND  TllF  I.AO 


morit  "  ill  liis  Itebalf,  and  propitiate  the  demons  by  gen- 
erous olleriugs. 
On  the  evming  of  June  29th,  while  riding  throogh 

the  streets  of  tlie  city,  sonip  one  railed  out  to  me, 
"  The  Prince  is  dead !  "  No  news  ever  gave  lue  such  a 
shock.  I  stepped  in  to  the  residence  of  one  of  the 
princes,  a  nephew  of  Kawilorot,  to  net  the  particulars, 
hill  found  him  in  a  dreadful  slate  of  mind.  Yes.  The 
Prince  was  dead;  and  word  had  come  that  he  (tlie 
nephew)  was  to  go  to  Bangkok  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
lawsuits — to  answer  in  his  own  name  for  transactions 
done  hy  order  of  the  dead  IM  ince! 

How  soon  the  stronf^est  prejudices  fade  and  dis- 
appear in  the  preseiue  of  death!  The  anxious  fears 
of  his  return  that  had  haunted  us,  all  dissolved  into 
tender  s,vuii»athy  now  that  he  was  gone.  We  forgot 
his  treachery  and  cruelty,  and  thought  only  of  his  in- 
teresting human  qualities.  We  recalled  his  taking  tea 
or  dininp  with  us.  and  even  the  dry  jokes  that  he  so 
much  enjoyed.  He  was  a  tender  father.  He  could  be 
a  warm,  though  a  fickle  and  inconstant  friend.  In 
many  resjiects  he  was  a  fjood  ruler.  He  was  absolute 
and  tyrannical;  but  there  was  no  petty  thieving  in  his 
realm.  And  now  that  voice  that  had  made  thousands 
tremble  was  silent  in  death!  No  doubt  it  was  with  a 
sifrh  of  relief  that  the  Siamese  government  turned  over 
the  government  of  the  North  to  one  wh(>m  they  could 
better  trust. 

But  it  would  1h'  a  hard  heart  that  could  follow  un- 
moved that  long,  weary  homeward  trip  of  the  dying 
Prince.  He  was  so  weak  that  he  could  not  endure  the 
jarring  caused  by  the  use  of  the  set  i  ing  jioles.  His  boat 
had  to  be  taken  in  tow  of  another.  Wlien  the  last 
lingering  hope  of  life  died  out,  his  one  desire  was  to 


DKATII  OF  KAWII.olJOT 


reach  home — to  dif  in  his  own  palace.  The  trip 
throQfi^  the  rapidK  he  could  not  bear,  and  it  was  too 
slow  for  the  dylof?  man.  Travel  bv  elephant  is  both 
rouph  and  slow.  lie  is  itninfjlit  iisliore,  tlKTcfore,  and 
borne  on  a  litler  as  swiflly  as  relays  of  men  can  carry 
him.  Over  the  mountains  and  np  the  valley  of  the 
MO  rinsr,  nnch  r  binning  sun  and  through  drivint;  rain, 
they  hasten.  At  last,  on  (he  evoninf;  of  June  28th,  (hey 
halt  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Me  I'ing,  with  only  that 
stream  between  him  and  his  own  connti^'.  "What 
land  is  this?"  he  asks.  *' Lanipun."  is  the  icjily. 
"  Carry  uie  across  quickly!  "  lie  is  obeyed,  but  sinks 
exhausted  by  the  fatigue  of  crossing.  He  passes  a 
restless  night.  His  mind  wanders.  He  dreams  of  be 
inj;  at  home;  of  worshii>i»inp  in  his  own  palace.  The 
morning  comes.  lie  is  still  alive;  but  so  weak  that,  in 
spite  of  his  eagerness  to  hasten  on,  at  every  few  paces 
his  beartTs  must  halt,  while  attendants  fan  him  or 
administer  a  cordial.  At  last  fan  and  cordials  fail. 
The  liUcr  is  set  down  under  the  two  golden  umbrellas 
that  screen  it  from  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun.  The 
little  group  stand  with  bowed  heads  and  hushed  hearts 
while  the  spirit  takes  its  flight,  to  appear  before  its 
Maker. — Almost,  but  not  quite  home,  and  with  none 
of  his  immediate  kin  by  him  to  see  the  end!  The  at- 
tendants cover  the  body  with  a  cloth,  and  hasten  on  to 
the  next  station,  a  few  miles  below  the  city.  The  pro- 
cession halted  there  at  about  the  very  time  that  the 
messenger  reached  Chiengmai  with  the  news  that  he 
was  dead. 

Such,  as  I  learned  next  day  from  the  attending 

prime,  werc  the  last  lioiirs  of  Ili,«  Highness  (Miao 
Kilwilorot  Suriyawonf;,  rrinte  of  (Jliiengniai.  He  died 
at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  June  29lh,  1870,  in 


136  AMONG  THE  HIA    i>l   ANI>  TIli:  LAO 

tho  sorrntietb  ^ar  of  his  offt,  and  m  the  8ixteeatb  uf 
his  reign. 

Next  morning  before  breakfaat  I  was    nt  for  by  tbe 

younger  daughter  of  Hie  I'rincr  (<>  b  ■  ti»  the  rrMidcnce 
of  the  nephew,  whi.in  I  hud  hfi  lua  in  the  eveuiug 
before  in  such  a  diHtracted  Ktate  of  mind.  Bow 
gbocked  was  I  on  entering  to  find  the  prince  cold  and 
dead!  The  I'rinci'SH  wish''.  u  ...c;  niy  jtidgnient 
whether  he  was  really  dead  i)-  .  "iui  hope  ol  resusci- 
tation. Dot  it  required  no  skified  phygician  to  an- 
swer that  question.  Tie  had  ;  .ideull.v  died  by  a  dosr- 
of  opium  adniinistend  hy  his  own  's'  lds  Tin  litsle 
cup  froDJ  whiih  it  was  taken  was  sull  it.v  his  binlside. 
Wbetber  it  wm  intentional  Huieide  to  eHca|)e  the  law- 
anita  of  his  dc  fascd  m;'  .  <>r  was  sitii|'  k-sisi'  *1 
to  ease  the  mental  troubtcM  of  that  nighi,  luey  could 
tell  a»  well  as  I.  In  either  caae,  be  slept  tbe  aieep 
that  l^nows  no  waking  till  tbe  ramraoBa  of  the  laat 
trump. 

After  breakfast  I  rode  out  to  the  eneampn»  i.i,  only 
two  or  three  miles  away,  where  the  ImAy  of  the  P'-ince 
was  lyiiiB.  The  family  nnd  (.fliccrs  ;ih.l  friends  ore 
asscmhled  to  look  for  tho  last  tiiue  on  that  ui  ted  facp. 
The  last  act  before  idacing  the  body  in  the  coffin  was 
to  cover  it  throughout  with  gold-leaf,  to  give  it  tlte  ap- 
pearance of  ;  .  ng  a  Huddha.  l?ut  no  jjold  leal  !,1 
disguise  that  face.  The  family  remained  there  a  tew 
days,  partly  for  the  nn  .  b  needed  rest,  but  chiefly  to 
await  a  day  of  good  at  rury  for  carryii^  tbe  remains 
t'  the  city. 

The*  day  was  well  <    sen  for  suvh  a  pageant  as  tbe 
country  bad  not  seen  to  honour  alike  tbe  departed, 
and  to  welcome  the  s  cceedinp  Prince    Thcrr  wa^ 
long  and  imposing  procession  of  soldic?*,  monks,  a 


DRATH    'P  KAVVffAiROT 


13- 


i! 


<ke  bead  of 

OL  irt  In- 
Not  far  be- 
home  on  a 
of  jel- 

clU. 


people  uiarcliiuiJ  lo  till-  '■■    lias  «if  th^  funi  t  ul  nirg*  and 
to  the  %\ow,  aolmn  be^if  of  lirnint'  N<mi 
the  'iiu',  on  his  f'ie|»hii:     \v;i  r 
taiuuD,  WMin  to  be  Vrum'  of  «      ugi  i. 
bind  can*  the  body  of  the  de:  I  Prinrr 
gulden  h\er  auiJ  ;!<-cami)ji  iicd       "  I'  > 
low  !    «<i  [  rients.        '  '  i|  si.is  w 
:ind  Oil  .1  lierojul    lowii.    -lit  h 
nesa  of  baman  poai|>  snd  ,  *eT. 
ing  the  hurae  I  s  Iligm        ,(mI  i.. 
f  >'oi"  ite  elepi.  ait.  its  1  i;.'    '  <H\y  . 
j.iHgs   of  gitld.     AftP!    ill*;-      <;i'M(*  , 

Prince's  familj  and  other  near  a  lative 

About  ffii  o'cloci  th         '       n  ; 
which,  by  iuexorab  n;      !  V  m 

to  receive  the  dead    lot  ev. ;  htmfsh 
whose  word  f<»r  so      !iy  \     ^  ,»J 


iifii! 

i'r<Hi- 


n   onimr  •  ?  on  hninuu 
jR  stitioiis  cu 
therefore,  the 

There,  u  n 
his  reiuains  1;= 

i-ar 


i  ■>■■  ni 
<  >     lea.  iiiii, 
"t,  »»me*l 

■it\ 


IBooy 

an- 
af  ■ 


in  <tate  nnti 
;iter.  Meant! 


^  Btr 

fiir 


Mir     ;ty  U 

Pr»ce  I&- 
-tQved  me.  a^^  soi 


V 


as  i 


-hi  (i 

- 1  its  gate* 
d««ii  were  he 
its  law.  What 

v!  :i!iny  of  su- 
III.    f^ttuth  Gate, 
I  the  right,  and 
the  EA^t  (late. 
.  b»'"'<le  ;lie  river, 
at  ■■    uiation  cere- 
tDii)       kept  bum- 
ht  auf!  day.  A 
e.     ourses  of  monks 
;hist  <^remonial  for  the 
■  ■■■  whol^'  night  the  lieat 
ni!      the  air.  reminding- 
(••raained  of  one  of  ita 

•  t  otlieially  installed, 
M  at  the  encampment, 


t 


it  we  we;  to  remain  asd  bailti  oar  bosses  and  proae- 


i:;S  AM()N(5  TIIC  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
cute  our  work  without  let  or  hindrance.  Other 
princes  and  officers  were  pleased  to  give  the  same  as- 
surance.   With  the  rriiue's  party  there  came  a  large 
mail  fn.m  friends  in  l!;.ngkok,  givin-  full  pa-tioulars 
of  the  negotiations  that  were  8topi)ed  by  the  sudden 
illness  of  the  Prince,  and  clearing  up  tlie  questions 
about  which  we  were  so  much  in  doubt.    The  interp..sP 
tiou  of  I'rovidcnce  had  been  so  marked  that  we  could 
only  Hi  and  in  awe  before  Him  who  had  so  wonderfully 
led  us    For,  after  the  utmost  stn  lch  of  my  own 
rredulitv  in  trving  to  trust  the  Prince,  my  final  con- 
vi-'tion  is  that,  had  he  lived,  he  and  the  mission  could 
not  Lave  existed  in  the  same  country.   He  could  never 
have  endured  to  see  his  people  bcHoniing  Chrr^^t  ans— 
Not  that  he  cared  so  much  IVu-  Buddhism;  but  it 
would  have  been  a  ci>nstant  challenge  to  his  autocratic 

rule.  .  , 

In  March,  while  the  scenes  of  this  tragic  drama  were 
sk.wlv  enacting   in   liaugkok,  and   while  we  were 
anxiously  awaiting  the  d6nouement,  we  had  a  pleasant 
episode  of  another  kind.    One  morning  we  were  sur 
prised  to  learn  from  some  natives  that  out  on  the  plain, 
n..t  far  from  the  city,  they  had  passed  two  white  for- 
eigners, u  man  and  a  woman,  and  that  they  were  com 
i„.r  to  „„r  bouse.    Sure  enough,  about  ten  o'clock,  who 
should  ride  up  but  liev.  and  Mrs.  J.  N.  Cushiug  of  the 
American  Baptist  Mission  in  Burma!   What  an  un- 
expected  pleasure!    For  throe  years  \xe  had  sinm  but 
two  white  faces  outside  ..f  our  own  little  circle.  Some 
of  our  latest  news  from  home  friends  was  eleven  months 
old  when  we  received  it.   What  a  social  feast  we  did 

have!  ,  ,  , 

They  had  started  from  Shwegjin,  Burma,  had  made 
a  tour  west  of  ihe  Salwin  Kiver,  crossed  over  to  Keng 


XII 


THE  NEW  REGIME 
NE  of  the  results  of  the  cbaut,'e  of  government 


was  that  we  were  able  to  build  permanent 


houses.   For  three  years  and  more  we  had 
lived  within  basket-woven  bamboo  walls  that  a  pocket- 
knife  could  pierce,  neither  secure  nor  wholesome  nor 
favourable  for  our  work.    They  bore  silent  but  steady 
testimony  that  we  ourselves  did  not  regard  our  stay 
as  permanent.   The  results  of  our  manner  of  living 
were  already  seen  in  the  impaired  health  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  mission.   My  wife  surely  could  never  have 
lived  another  decade  in  the  old  sftia  with  bamboo  walls 
and  ceiling,  where  the  dust  from  the  borers  in  the 
wood  constantly  tilled  the  air  and  poisoned  the  lungs. 
Mrs.  Wilson  bore  up  bravely  for  live  years,  until  there 
was  just  ready  for  her  reception  the  permanent  house 
which  she  was  never  to  enjoy.    As  soon  as  they  could, 
the  family  started  f<.r  the  I'nited  States  on  furlough, 
all  thoroughly  broken  down.   After  two  years  of  rest 
Mr.  Wilson  alone  was  able  to  return  to  the  fiel'j,  leaving 
Mrs.  Wilson  behind.    She  never  regaineil  her  health, 
and  thev  never  saw  each  other  again.    Uer  departure 
was  a  gi-eat  loss  to  the  mission.   She  was  a  gifted 
lady,  a  fine  vocal  and  instrumental  musician,  and  a 
consecrated  missionary.    She  left  one  literary  work  in 
Lao,  the  translation  of  Bunyan  s  I'ilyrimS  t'ruyiesa, 
which  has  since  been  published. 


140 


THE  NEW  REGIME 


141 


But  as  matters  then  were,  there  was  much  perplexing 
work  to  be  done  before  we  were  at  all  ready  to  begin 
building.  I  was  favoured  in  getting  a  lot  of  first 
class  teak  logs  delivered  at  a  very  cheap  rate.  Then 
the  trouble  began.  The  logs  must  be  hauled  up  from 
the  river  by  elephants  to  the  lot  where  they  are  to  be 
Eawn.  The  log  is  raised  and  mounted  on  two  strong 
trestles.  A  black  line  to  guide  the  saw  is  struck  on 
either  side.  Two  sawyers  stand  facing  each  other 
across  the  log.  grasping  the  handles  of  a  long  framed 
saw  with  horizontal  blade.  Then  the  operation  begins. 
The  saw  is  pushed  and  pulled  back  and  forth  till  the 
cnt  is  carried  throngh  to  the  end  of  the  log.  This 
operation  is  r^ated  for  every  stick  of  timber  pat 
into  the  house. 

But  we  are  already  too  fast.  Where  are  the  sawyers 
to  come  from?  There  were  then  no  good  sawyers 
among  the  Lao.  No  one  dared  to  learn  for  fear  of  be- 
ing appropriated  by  llie  Prince,  or  of  being  compelled 
to  work  on  pablic  bnildings.  There  were,  however, 
three  pairs  of  sawyers,  debtors  to  "le  Prince,  whom  he 
had  brought  up  from  Kaheng  for  his  own  work. 
Whenever  not  needed  by  him  or  by  some  other  person 
of  rank,  they  were  allowed  to  se^  employment  else- 
where. So,  at  odd  times,  1  was  able  to  secure  their 
services.  Hut  if  the  Prince  needed  them,  they  must  at 
once  drop  everything  and  go.  Scores  of  times  our 
sawyers  were  called  away,  often  for  weeks  at  a  time, 
and  at  the  busiest  stage  of  the  work. 

And  now  for  the  carpenter.  The  Lao  dared  not  be 
known  as  carpenters  f  >  the  same  reason  as  that  given 
above  in  the  case  '  f.  <  sawyers.  Tliey  wonid  have 
been  constantly  ri-  .tioneil  for  government  work. 
There  was  in  the  place  only  one  Siamese  carpenter 


142  AMON'l    Hi.  i^IAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
reputed  to  tv  u  ^ood  workman.    In  order  to  get  him, 
1  had  to  advance  him  three  hundred  nipeeB,  professedly 
to  pay  a  debt,  but  most  likely  to  ganil.le  with.   He  was 
to  build  bv  eontraet.    lUit  he  had  already  received 
his  money,'  or  so  much  of  it  that  he  was  quite  inde- 
pendent. '  He  soon  slashed  and  spoiled  more  timber 
than  his  wages  were  worth.    So,  to  keep  him  from 
ruininjj  the  whole,  1  had  to  get  rid  of  him,  even  at 
Home  sacrilice.   Just  then  a  Siamo-Chinese  turned  up, 
who  took  the  job  by  the  day  under  my  direction,  to  be 
assisted  by  some  Christians  whom  we  trained  thus  as 
apprentices.   The  house  was  built  on  the  plan  of  the 
East  Indian  bungalow-raised  teu  feet  from  the  ground 
on  posts,  with  single  walls  and  a  veranda  all  round. 
Its  large  loftv  rooms,  screened  on  all  sides  by  the 
verandas,  make  it  still  one  of  the  most  comfortable 
houses  in  the  mission.   It  was  more  than  eight  years 
from  the  time  of  our  arrival  when  we  entered  it;  and 
even  then  it  was  not  tinished.  ^ 

Although  the  new  govemmait  was  friendly,  yet 
some  of  the  rrling  spirits  were  in  their  hearts  as  hostile 
as  the  decepsed  Prince  had  ever  been,  and  without  his 
more  noble  qualities.   There  were  two  in  particular 
who  soon  began  to  show  that  their  secret  influence 
would  be  against  the  mission-and  their  open  hostility, 
too  so  far  as  they  ventured  to  let  it  appear.  One 
was  the  adoi.ted  son  of  the  late  Prince,  and  the  other 
the  new  ruler's  half-brother,  who  had  been  made 
Uparat,  or  second  in  power,  when  the  new  Prince 
ascended  the  throne.   Had  these  both  lived,  their  com- 
bined  inlluence  would  have  been  nearly  as  formidable 
as  that  of  KawilOrot.   Unfortunately,  too,  the  actual 
business  of  the  country  was  largely  in  their  hands. 
Prince  Intanon  was  not  at  all  ambitious  for  pow^r, 


THE  NEW  REGIME 


143 


He  liked  nothing  better  than  to  work  without  cai'e  or 
responsibility  in  his  own  little  woitehop,  making  fancy 
elephant-saddles,  and  let  his  half-brother  rule  the  conn- 
try.  During  the  following  jear  the  adopted  son  went 
down  to  Bangkok  to  receive  the  insignia  of  bis  new 
rank,  bnt  never  returned.  Hia  death  was  even  more 
sudden  than  that  of  liis  foster-father.  He  wa.s  taken 
with  the  cholera,  and  died  in  a  few  hours.  This  left  the 
elder  of  the  two  avowed  enemies  of  Christianity,  and 
the  higher  in  rank  and  power.  To  give  an  illustration 
of  the  kind  of  spirit  we  had  to  contend  with  in  bim,  I 
will  anticipate  an  incident  of  a  few  years  later. 

Two  native  Karens,  ordained  ministers,  were  sent  by 
the  American  Baptist  Mission  to  initiate  in  Lao  ter- 
ritory a  work  among  the  Karens,  a  hill-people  scat- 
tered sparsely  throaghoat  all  the  mountain  region  be- 
twem  Siam  and  Bnrma.  The  native  evangelists 
brought  with  them  letters  from  the  missionaries  in 
Burma,  requesting  us  to  aid  them  in  getting  LSlo  pass- 
ports. We  went  with  them  to  the  new  Prince,  and  he 
very  graciously  gave  direction  to  his  brother  to  see 
that  passports  were  issued,  stating  not  only  that  the 
visitors  were  to  be  protected  and  aided  as  travellers, 
but  also  that  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  teach  the  new 
religion,  and  that  people  were  allonrad  to  embrace  it 
without  fear. 

I  was  specially  interested  that  they  should  succeed 
in  the  first  village  which  they  were  to  visit,  for  it  was 

the  one  where  I  had  vaccinated  the  whole  population 
during  the  first  year  of  our  mission.  Since  1  had 
faited  to  make  Christians  of  them — partly,  as  I  sup- 
posed, on  account  of  my  ignorance  of  their  language, 
but  more  on  account  of  the  persecution  which  fol- 
lowed so  soon  after — 1  hoped  that  when  the  message 


144  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
was  delivered  in  their  own  tonjjue.  with  offiiial  i>er- 
mi8«ion  to  embrace  it,  the  whole  village  might  aecept 
the  Gospel.  What  was  the  •stoniAment  of  tta 
preaehen  that,  instead  of  being  received  with  ibe  char- 
acteristic hospitality  of  tlu  ir  race,  they  hardly  found 
common  civility!   At  last  they  learned  tlB  reason. 
The  Chao  Uparftt  had  secretly  despatched  a  special 
messoiger  with  a  letter  under  his  own  seal,  forbid- 
ding any  Karen  subject  to  embrace  the  new  religion. 
All  who  did  so  were  to  be  reported  to  him.  What 
that  meant,  «r  what  he  wished  them  to  infer  tifflt  it 
meant,  was  well  understood. 

Our  readers,  therefore,  will  not  be  surprised  that 
we  found  it  necessary  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  Chao 
Upar&t,  and  to  use  considerable  diplomacy  in  coun- 
teracting bis  schemes  against  the  church.    It  was  my 
policy  in  those  days  to  keep  up  as  close  an  acquaint- 
imce  as  possible  with  the  members  of  the  ruling  fam- 
ily.   It  was  the  misfortune  of  all  of  them  that  they 
were  ignorant ; '  and  ignorance  begets  suspicion.  Some 
of  them  were  naturally  suspicious  of  the  missionaries. 
They  could  not  understand  what  motive  could  induce 
men   who   were   neither   government   officials  nor 
merchants,  to  leave  a  great  country  and  come  to  live  in 
theirs. 

Two  objects  were  gained  by  keeping  in  contact  with 
the  rulers.  They  saw,  then,  with  their  own  eyes,  and 
heard  with  their  own  ears,  what  we  were  doing.  In 
nearly  every  interview  our  one  great  work  was  mag- 
nified alike  to  prince,  priest,  and  people.  I  have  here- 
tofore specially  mentioned  princesses,  too,  as  well  as 
princes,  in  this  connection,  because  the  LHo  have  a 

>  Thto  same  Uptrat,  whole  word  ruled  the  country,  w«i  uuUe  to 
writs  his  own  orders. 


TUE  NEW  Rf:(JIME 


145 


proud  pre-eminence  among  non  Christian  races  in  the 
position  accorded  to  woman.  In  the  family,  woman's 
authoritj'  is  universally  recognized.  At  the  time  we 
spealv  of  it  was  much  the  same  in  the  government  also. 
The  influence  of  women  in  atlairs  of  state  was  doubt- 
less greatly  increased  daring  the  prerions  reign,  when, 
there  lioing  no  sons  in  the  royal  household,  the 
daughters  naturally  became  more  prominent.  They 
were  trained  to  understand  and  to  deal  with  public 
basinem. 

1  have  a  i ready  referred  to  the  kindness  of  the  elder 
daughter,  now  not,  as  in  former  reigns,  the  head-wife, 
but  the  only  w^ife  of  the  new  ruler.  By  birth  she  was 
of  higher  rank  than  lie;  and  she  was  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  high  position  she  now  assumed.  Hers 
was,  in  fact,  the  strong  intelligence  and  steady  will 
that  kept  her  more  passive  consort  from  errors  into 
which  he  would  otherwise  have  been  led.  At  this  par- 
ticular juncture  she  was  needed  as  a  check  against 
the  Prince's  more  ambitious  and  less  principled  half- 
brotlier.  8he  had  a  woman's  instinct  to  discern  a 
point,  and  a  woman's  revulsion  against  lawless  acts, 
even  when  done  by  her  own  father.  In  honesty  of 
purpose  she  and  her  consort  were  one,  for  his  kind- 
ness of  heart  had  drawn  to  him  more  dependents  than 
any  other  prince  in  the  land  pijssessed.  The  murder 
of  the  Christians  tliey  both  regarded  as  "  worse  than  a 
crime— a  blander."  For  the  presoit,  however,  ther« 
was  no  indication  of  the  sinister  forces  which  came 
into  play  later.  All  in  authority  seemed  to  be  hon- 
Mtly  carrying  out  the  orders  from  Bangkok  concern- 
ing the  missionary  work. 

A  year  was  spent  in  preparation  for  the  ceremonies 
attending  the  cremation  of  the  dead  Prince.  During 


146  AMONG  TUi:  SlAMESi:  AND  THE  LAO 

the  last  tlirce  monilis  of  this  time,  everything  else  in 
the  whole  land  yielded  place  to  it.  Not  only  web  there 
requisition  of  men  and  materials  throughout  the  prov- 
ince of  Chiengmai;  but  all  the  neighbouring  stales  fur- 
niKhed  large  levies  of  men  under  the  personal  direction 
of  their  princes  or  officers  of  rank.  Such  occasions 
oflfer  exceptional  opportunities  for  meeting  people  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  for  foriniiig  lasting  friend- 
ships, and  for  sending  some  knowledge  of  the  Gospel 
to  distant  provinces.  In  after  years  I  never  made  a 
tour  on  whith  I  did  not  encounter  friends  whose  ac- 
quaintance 1  had  made  at  the  great  cremation  fes- 
tival. 

The  preparations  were  hastened  somewhat  because 
of  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country.  Chao  Fa  Kolan, 
the  NgT<»  freebooter  of  whom  we  have  already  heard, 
was  still  at  his  old  tricks.  Emboldened  by  the  death 
of  the  Prince,  and  the  confusion  incident  to  the  diange 
of  rulers,  he  had  become  more  insolent  than  ever. 
Villages  had  been  burned  within  less  than  a  day's 
march  from  the  city.  Bands  of  men,  euphemistically 
called  an  army,  were  levied  and  despatched  to  capture 
him;  but  long  l»efore  they  could  reach  him,  he  was 
safe  within  his  stronghold  in  the  mountains. 

The  dead  Prince  was  bom  on  a  Sunday ;  therefore 
every  important  event  of  his  life  must  take  place  on 
that  day,  even  to  the  last  dread  summons,  w>>!ch  is 
not  under  man's  control— and  beyond  that,  to  the 
final  disposition  '  his  mortal  remains.  Sunday, 
therefore,  was  the  lirst  day  of  the  ceremonies.  On 
that  day  the  body  was  removed  from  the  summer  gar- 
den to  the  "  Men,"  where  i  i  was  to  lie  in  state  to  re- 
ceive the  homage  of  his  relatives  and  subjects  until 
the  following  Sunday.   The  morning  of  each  <lay  was 


LRtM.VTlON  I•RO^Jt^SlaN 


THE  Ni:\V  Kf:(JI.MIO 


147 


devoJeti  to  "  oierit-niaking "  of  various  kinds — feed* 
log  the  monks,  making  offerings  to  tbem,  and  listening 
to  the  roa<Iiu{;  of  tlie  sacred  books.  The  afternoon* 
vcre  largely  s[»cnt  in  Ixtxing  pnnu-s,  a  favoiirito  aniUKe- 
inent  of  the  Liio.  Tlie  cveuiugb  were  given  up  to 
gambling. 

l']vprythinK  went  on  according  to  programme  until 
Thursday  morntug,  wlien  tlie  festivities  were  rudely  in- 
terrupted. Ghao  Fa  Kdlan,  the  liatidii  chief,  taking 
advantage  of  the  occasion,  made  one  of  his  sudden 
forays  to  w  ilhin  so  sliort  a  distance  ot  ("liicnpniai  tliat 
he  actually  hud  posted  on  ttte  city  gates  during  tite 
night  an  insolent  manifesto  to  the  effect  that  the  as- 
sembled Princes  need  not  tnniblf  themselvi-s  fmtlier 
with  the  creination  of  the  dead  I'rince.  He  and  his 
band  would  attend  to  L'lat !  The  news  produced  a 
tremendous  panic.  The  whole  basimss  of  the  crema- 
tion was  incnntinently  stof.pefl.  A  force  was  sent  out 
after  the  marauder — with  the  u>ual  result.  Before  the 
end  of  the  week,  however,  the  panic  had  sufficiently 
snbsided  to  permit  the  ceremonies  to  he  resumed.  The 
cremation  itself  was  carried  out  on  the  following  Sun- 
day as  planned. 

During  all  these  years  the  demand  for  medical  treat- 
ment, and  the  opportunity  which  i!s  exercise  brings, 
had  been  constantly  growing.  I  made,  for  example, 
a  second  trip  to  Lampun,  this  time  at  the  (  ill  of  the 
Chao  Uparat  of  that  city.  The  poor  man  had  con- 
sumption, and  at  first  neat  to  me  for  some  fnrei<;n 
medicine,  thinking  that  would  surely  cure  him.  Judg 
ing  from  his  symptoms  as  reported,  I  sent  word  that  I 
could  not  cure  him;  that  the  soothing  mixture  which 
I  sent  was  sent  in  hope  that  it  might  give  him  a  few 
nights'  rest ;  but  that  was  all  I  could  do.   I'resently  he 


148  AMONG  THI.  silAMEHI.  AND  TMH  UAO 

Bentanelepbunt  with  a  mo;  I  in;"  nt  iii«i'<'iil  »  eome 
to  see  him.  1  waK  glad  of  ilu>  call,  for  it  guvi>  lue  the 
opijortuntty  of  directing  a  dying  man  to  Bomethlng 
even  more  urgently  nwdotl  tb;.n  incdiiiiw.    I  -pent 

M  w  dii.vs  with  liim.  and  visit  d  all  of  the  leading 
faroilieH  aud  ofllcials  of  tlie  ida<e.  eHtabllshing  most 
valuable  and  friendlr  relations  with  them. 

Long  before  this  both  the  dcnumd  for 

i,-nl  itviittiiHit  and  the  resi.oni..ibility  involved  far  ex- 
ceeded what  uuy  [wrnon  without  complete  profetwional 
training  could  undertake  to  meet.  Wo  bad  urged 
upon  our  Hoard  tli.'  clainis  of  our  mission  f(.r  a  physi- 
oian.  The  following  touching  api»eal.  which  appeared 
in  the  Fort  ign  Mitaiomm  for  March,  1870,  was  made 
by  Mr.  Wilson  not  long  after  ihe  doatb  of  bis  son 
Frank.  After  sending  an  earnest  appeal  from  Nan 
Inta  for  helpers,  Mr.  Wilson  says: 

"Of  couw  Nun  Intn'a  call  for  help  includes 
Christian  physician.    Who  will  respond?    I  am  connnoed 
there  are  many  younp  men  in  t!,r  medi-'al  profe^^sion  whoM 
lovp  for  Jesus  and  whose  sympathy  with  human  sufferings 
an.  strouK  enough  to  bring  them  all  the  way  to  Chiengmai, 
if  they  will  but  yield  themselves  to  this  constraming  influ- 
ence. Christian  physirian,  yon  are  greatly  needed  here.  The 
miMionary's  family  needs  you.   This  suffering  people  needs 
yon.   You  were  needed  months  since,  when  a  voice  so  sweet 
and  full  of  glee  was  changed  to  piteous  shrieks  of  pain.  You 
were  not  here  to  give  relief;  and  if  yon  now  come,  it  will 
not  greet  you,  for  it  i«  hushed  in  .leath.    You  are^  needed 
heie  now.  A  plaintive  cry  comes  to  mc  as  1  .vrit^'.    It  is  tho 
Toice  of  our  dear  babe,  whose  weak  condition  fills  our  hearts 
with  deepest  anxiety,    ifay  I  not  interpret  this  plaintive 
cry  as  addressed  to  you?    It  is  the  only  way  that  M.  has 
of  saying  to  you,  'Come  to  Chiengmai.'   When  you  arrive 
•he  may  be  sleeping  beside  her  little  brother.  But  yon  will 
find  others,  both  old  aad  young,  whose  pains  you  may  be  able 


THi:  Ni  \v  Ki':<iiMi: 


to  soothe,  and  whose  souls)  you  may  win  from  the  way  that 
iMda  to  eternal  death." 

Great  was  our  joy,  therefore,  when,  in  the  Hunmipr 
of  1871,  we  learned  that  T>r.  C.  W.  Vrooman,  from 
Dr.  Cnyh'i  <  ihm.  h  in  Brooklyn,  had  responded  to 
our  apiical.  :iimI  iilicady  w.is  iin<l«'r  npi  ntnient  of  our 
Hoard  for  « :hi<ii}{iiiui.  His  arrival  wum  delayed  Houie- 
what  becaaae  it  was  thought  miRafe  for  him  to  make 
the  river  trip  dininjj  the  h«'i<rli'  nf  ilie  rainy  seaHon. 
Ko  it  was  January  L'Ud,  1S72,  hefore  we  welcoiiie<l 
him  to  Chiengmai.  He  came  with  high  credentialM  as  a 
phyaician  and  aurgeon  W''h  experience  both  in  private 
and  in  hospital  practic*-  Ho  h«'<;!in  worlv  on  the  day 
of  his  arrival.  He  found  Nan  Inta  at  the  point  of 
death  from  acnte  dysentery ;  and  his  flwt  trophy  wa» 
thf  Having  of  that  prwious  lit.-.  Had  he  done  nothing 
else,  that  alone  w.mld  havo  been  wel'  worth  wh'lf. 
One  or  two  operal  ins  for  venioal  cuiculua  p.?  'e  him 
Bwh  a  reputation  thu  t  patioits  came  crowdii!^  .  <  Mm 
for  reli^.   In  his  first  report  be  writes  : 

"  T  WAS  very  glad  to  commence  work  as  soon  as  T   •  '  , 

in  the  field.  The  mimher  was  larf^e  "  those  who  cumio  to 
til'-  brethro!!  Tc  for  daily  treatment;  and  such  is  the  repu- 
taiion  whicii  tJioy  have  established  for  themselves  as  ^lysi' 
cians,  that  the  demand  for  our  professional  services  greater 
than  we  can  properly  meet.  T  am  sati:;fied  that  the  demand 
for  a  niidical  missionary  her(»  wn-  not  too  fongly  urged 
by  the  brtHhren  in  their  earnest  appeals  to  the  Board. 

"  I  have  already  had  much  professional  worit  to  do,  and 
while  I  am  minisferinr  t->  'hvsical  ailments,  Brother  Mc- 
Gilvary,  who  is  kiiidiy  my  jnterpreter,  has  opportuiiity  to 
break  unto  many  the  br.  l  <n  life.  .  .  .  Two  men  have 
just  left  who  came  a  lon^  distance,  hoping  we  <K>ald  bring 
to  life  a  brother  who  bad  died  hoars  heion.** 


XIII 


EXPLORATION 

NOT  long  after  Dr.  Vroomau's  arrival  it  was  de- 
cided to  undertake  our  first  extended  tour.  It 
wa8  inip..rtant  to  ascertain  the  size  and  pop- 
ulation ..f  <.nr  whole  field:  and  this  eould  be  accom- 
plished only  bv  personal  exploration.    A  journey  for 
this  pnrpcwe  would,  of  course,  afford  abundant  oppor 
tnnitv  for  preaching  the  Gospel;  it  w-mM.  beside^, 
L'ive  the  doctor  a  needed  change,  and  woiilu  eflfectually 
advertise  his  work.   Our  objective  was  LQang  Prabang, 
then  one  of  the  largest  of  the  provinces  of  Siani,  as  It 
was  also  the  most  distant  one.    A  journey  to  it  seemed 
the  tnosi  pn.titi.ble  that  could  be  made  during  the  time 
at  our  disposal,  and  the  most  comfortable  as  well, 
since  a  large  stretch  of  it  cot.ld  bo  ...a-h'  by  boat  It 
WIS  iiln-n.h  t<.o  late  in  the  season  to  accomplish  all 
that  we  .Icsind;  but  '  half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no 
bread  "    It  might  be  years  before  a  longer  trip  could 
be  made.    As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  sixteen  years  be- 
fore I  visiled  Luang  I'rabang  again. 

The  IMimc  gave  us  a  passport,  sending  us  as  his 
pnests  to  be  entertained  without  exiK  iis.  -.  though,  of 
,M,rs,.,  w.'  always  paid  ..nr  way.  Our  letter  stated 
that  we  went  as  teachers  of  religion  and  as  physicians 
for  the  sick.  It  was  a  virtual  proclamation  for  all 
the  sick  to  ni.plv  to  us  f.u-  tn  ;.tment.  This  gave  fre- 
quent octusiou  for  retort  that  we  did  not  remain  long 

100 


EXPLORATION 


151 


enoagh  to  comply  with  our  letter.  We  could  only  re- 
ply by  pointing  to  the  clouds  and  the  long  journey 

ahead. 

The  pnrty  consisted  of  Dr.  Vrooraan,  myself,  a  coolc, 
a  body-senrant,  and  eif?ht  carriers,  with  a  newly 
baptized  convert  as  ilio  «>nly  available  assistant  in  the 
religions  work.  The  elephants  re<inirefll  for  our  trans- 
portation over  the  first  stage  of  our  journey — to  Chieng 
Rai — we  had  secured,  for  a  wonder,  without  effort,  and 
very  clipaply.  Their  owner  was  anxious  to  got  Ihcni 
out  of  the  country  to  escape  an  epidemic  which  then 
was  prevalent.  The  start  was  on  April  mth,  1872,  after 
a  heavy  storm  which  ushered  in  the  rainy  season.  This 
was  my  first  trip  over  the  road  to  chienf^  Ilfii.  after- 
wards so  familiar  to  me.  After  leaving  the  plain  of 
Chiengmai,  the  road  ascends  the  valley  of  the  M£ 
Kuang  River,  fording  that  stream  no  less  than  forty 
nine  times  before  it  reaches  the  summit.  .'ilflO  feet 
above  sea-level,  the  watershed  between  the  Me  IMng 
and  the  M£  K9ng.*  Thence  it  descends  to  the  Md  Kok 
at  Chieng  RSi.   The  owner  of  our  elqihants  travelled 

'  III  standard  Biame!ic  the  vowel  in  the  name  of  this  gimt  rivrr  is 
uudoubtedly  long  o,  and  has  be^n  so  since  the  days  of  the  earliest 
Siamese  writin;;.  Such  also  seems  to  liiive  been  the  uiidcrstfindinK 
of  the  early  tifivcllcrs  who  first  broiicht  the  name  into  Kupipean 
use.  for  Mekong  is  the  uniform  s[H'llinc  of  all  the  slanil  ird  Atliises 
anil  (I'lZi-ttecrs  which  I  Iiiive  bpi-n  able  to  consult.  In  lln;  I/io  dta- 
Ici't.  lio-'-nvor.  the  vowel  is  that  represented  by  mr  in  /,nrii.  This  is 
Itie  proiiiinciation  which  Af  v  .1.  McCarthy.  Director  of  the  Siamese 
Koyal  Survey  Department,  heard  in  the  North,  and  transferred  to 
the  Map  of  Slam,  which  he  (torapllud,  as  Me  Kawug.  This,  liow. 
ever.  Mr.  R.  W.  Qlblin,  Mr.  McCarthy's  successor  in  office.  rccoR- 
nized  M  an  error,  ud  assured  me  that  it  should  be  corrected  in  the 
new  map  whioh  he  hoped  soon  tn  publish.  Mr.  Giblin,  however, 
has  left  the  lervlce,  and  the  map,  I  fear,  has  not  yet  been  iMued. 
But  since  Hiameae  speeeh  and  the  usage  of  geographical  authoritlea 
are  at  one  on  this  point,  there  can  scarceiy  be  qoHtion  aa  to  tiw 
proper  form  for  use  here.— £o. 


152  AMONG  THE  BIAMKt^E  AND  THE  LAO 

with  us,  and  was  unnecessarily  tender  to  liis  beasts. 
In  consequence  we  were  ten  days  making  this  stage 
of  the  trip,  which  afterwards,  with  my  own  elophauts, 
I  used  to  malie  in  less  than  six.  On  this  trip  1  wallied 
almost  the  whole  distance. 

At  Chieng  Rai  we  were  cordially  received.  The  gov- 
ernor listened  to  the  Gospel  mcssajje.  and,  I  l)eli('vo, 
received  it  in  faith,  as  we  shall  see  later.  Thence  we 
toek  boat  down  the  Me  Kok  to  its  junction  with  the 
M6  K6ng.  The  sand-bar  where  we  spent  the  Sabbath 
was  covered  with  fresh  tracks  of  lar};e  HenRul  tip-rs. 

Shortly  after  this  we  passed  out  of  the  Me  Ivok  into 
the  great  M6  Kong,  with  reference  to  which  I  take 
the  liberty  of  quoting  from  a  recent  work,  Five  Year$ 
in  8iam,  by  H.  Warrington  Smyth,  F.K.G.S. 

"  FeTf  can  regard  the  Me  Kawng  without  feeling  its  pecu- 
liar fast  illation.    That  narrow  streak  connecting  far  coun- 
triea  with  the  distant  ocean,— what  scenes  it  knows,  what 
stories  it  could  tell!    Gliding  gently  here,  and  thundoring 
with  fury  there  where  it  meets  with  opposition;  always  con- 
tinuing its  great  work  of  disintegration  of  hard  rocks  and 
of  trwisport  of  material;  with  inlinitc  patioi.cr-  hewing  down 
the  mounUin  sides,  and  building  up  with  them  new  coun- 
tries in  far  climes  where  other  tongues  are  spoken;  it  never 
stays  its  movemont.    Ilnw  few  men  have  seen  its  upper 
waters!    What  a  lonely  life  altogether  is  that  of  the  Me 
Kawng!    From  its  cradle  as  the  C.orpu  Kiv.  r  in  th.'  far 
Thibetan  highlands,  to  its  end  in  the  stormy  China  Sea,  it 
never  sees  a  populous  city  or  a  nahh  building.   For  nearly 
three  thousand  Kiil.  s  if  storms  through  solitudes,  or  wan- 
ders sullenly  through  jungle  wastes.    No  wonder  one  sat  by 
the  h^ur  listening  to  its  tale.    For  though  but  iull  to  read 
.,f,  the  wide  deep  reality  rolling  before  one  had  an  intense 
interest  for  a  lonely  man. 

•  Rising  in  about  33°  17'  N.  Lat.  and  94°  2.5'  F.  Long,  m 
the  greatest  nursery  of  noble  rivers  in  the  world,  where  six 


EXPLORATION 


153 


huge  brethren  have  so  long  concealed  the  secrets  of  their 

birth,  it  Hows  southeast  through  Cliiru'so  Thibetan  territory 
to  Chuaiiile,  where  the  tea  caravan  mad  from  Lhasa  and 
Thibet  on  the  west,  crosses  it  eastward  towards  Ta  CMea  Ltt 
ud  China,  over  10,000  feet  above  aea  level." 

Almost  w  ithin  sifjlit  from  the  mouth  of  (he  Md  Kok 
were  the  ruins  of  Chieng  S6u,  once  the  largest  city 
In  an  thin  rej^on.  Its  crumbling  walls  enclose  an 
oblong  area  stretching  some  two  miles  along  the  river. 
Seventy  years  before  our  visit  it  had  been  taker  by  a 
combined  army  of  Siamese  and  Lfio.  Its  inhabitants 
were  divided  among  the  conquerors,  and  carried  away 
into  captivity.  At  the  time  of  our  \isit,  the  city  and 
the  broad  province  of  which  it  was  the  capital  had 
been  desolate  for  three-quarters  of  a  century.  Nothing 
remained  bnt  the  dilapidated  walls  and  cmmbling 
ruins  of  old  temples.  Judging  from  its  innumerable 
iumges  of  I^uddha,  its  inhabitants  must  have  been  a 
very  religious  people.  One  wonders  whence  came  all 
the  bronze  used  in  making  them  in  those  distant  days. 
To  me  it  was  an  unexpected  pleasure  to  find  myself  in 
that  old  city,  the  ancestral  home  of  so  many  of  our 
parishioners.  Little  did  I  think  then  that  twenty 
years  later  I  should  aid  in  organizing  a  church  where 
we  then  stood.  The  M/^  Ki^ng  is  here  a  mighty  stream. 
It  must  be  a  magnificent  sight  in  time  of  high 
water. 

A  short  distance  below  the  city  we  passed  a  vil- 
lage recently  deserted  l)ecause  of  the  ravages  of  the 
tigers.  The  second  day  from  Chieng  S£n  brought  us 
to  Chwng  Kawng.  one  of  the  largest  dependencies  of 
the  provincj'  of  Nfui.  There  we  spent  two  very  inter 
esting  and  protitable  days.  1  had  met  the  governor 
in  Chiengmai.   He  was  delighted  with  my  repeating 


cut 


154  A.M()N(J  Till-:  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
ride,  and  had  us  try  it  before  him.    There  was  also 
his  8on,  who  not  long  after  was  to  succeed  the  father; 
but  his  story  we  shall  come  upon  some  twenty  years 

At  this  place  we  were  fortunate  in  finding  an  empty 
trading  boat  going  to  Luang  PraMng,  in  which  the  {i..v 
ern.)r  oui^navil  Un-  us  passage  on  very  reasonable  terms. 
We  left  VAxH'Ui;  Kawug  on  May  M.  The  trip  to  Luang 
I'rabaug  occupied  five  day«,  and  was  one  of  the 
memorable  events  of  my  life.    In  some  respects  the 
scenerv  is  not  so  strikinj,^  as  that  of  the  m  Ping  rapids. 
Till'  breadth  of  the  river  makes  the  difference.  You 
miss  the  narrow  f,'»>'^'t'  with  overhanging  cliffs  and  the 
gndden  bends  closing  in  every  outlet.    But,  on  the 
other  han.l.  vou  have  an  incomi.arably  gi-eater  river 
and  higher  niountains.    1  quote  again  from  Mr.  War- 
rington Smyth  the  following  toription  of  one  portion 
of  the  river  scenery : 

"The  high  peaks,  towering  5.000  feet  al.oTC  the  river, 
which  tri»o  it  such  a  sombre  appearance,  are  generally  ot  the 
very  extensive  limestone  series.  They  present  tremendous 
precipices  on  .ome  of  tlieir  and  their  outlines  are 

particularly  bold.  .  .  •  Some  mdes  above  Luang  Prabang 
the  large  and  important  trihntaries  of  the  ^aln  TT  and  the 
nL  ^ng  enter  the  Me  Kawng.   The  clear  transparent 
water  of  these  tributaries  fomw  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
brown  scliment-laden  water  of  the   Mc  Kawng.  .  .  .  In 
some  of  the  rapids  with  sloping  l-ottoms,  the  tir.t  jump  over 
th..  edge  is  very  pleasant;        fun  then  comes  m  the  short 
^n■>rIn^'  wav,-.    Kv..rylm,i.v  .m  hoard  is  fully  occupied;  the 
men  at  the  how-car  canting  her  head  this  way  and  that, 
the  helmsman  helping  from  tlu^  other  eii.l  to  make  lu  r  take 
it.  straight,  the  men  at  the  oars  puUing  for  all  they  are  worth, 
unci  the  re.t  hailing  mightily,  or  shouting  t-  any  one  who  has 
time  to  listen.    If  the  rapid  is  a  bad  one.  the  crews  land  to 
have  a  moid  before  tucklaig  it.  and  stop  to  chew  some  betel 


EXPLOBATION 


155 


and  etoB^tm  notes  after  it    So  it  U  ahrasv  •  aociabla 

My  travelling  companioo.  Dr.  Yrooaian,  thas  gives 
his  improwioiiM. 

"The  enrrmt  of  the  Cambodia  is  very  swift,  in  plaeea 

80  much  so  that  it  was  daiiperous  to  naviiratc.  The  river  is 
nearly  a  mile  wide  in  pluc's;  and  wliere  the  channel  is  nar- 
row, it  rushes  along  with  frightful  rapidity.  No  scenery  is 
liner  throughout  the  entire  distance  we  travelled  on  it. 
Mountains  rise  from  either  bank  to  the  height  of  three  or 
four  thousand  feet.  The  river  fills  the  bottom  of  a  long, 
winding  valley;  and  as  we  glided  swiftly  down  it,  there 
seemed  to  move  by  us  the  panorama  of  two  half-erect  hang- 
ing landscapes  of  woodland  verdure  and  blossom.  Only  as 
we  neared  the  city  did  we  see  ro  igh  and  craggy  mountain 
peaks  and  barren  towering  precipices." 

Twenty-aix  yeans  later  I  descended  the  M6  0  River 
from  Mfiang  Kwft  to  Lfiang  PrabSng,  and  th^  aaeended 

it  again.  The  i)erpendioular  rock  cliflfs  at  its  junction 
\^x'a  the  M£  Kong  surpass  any  that  I  ever  saw  else- 
where. 

Of  greater  interest  to  me,  however,  than  roaring 
rapids  and  towerin^r  rocks  were  the  ovidonces  of 
numerous  human  habitations  perched  far  above  us  on 
the  monntaitt  sides.  Rarely  can  their  houses  or  vil- 
lages be  seen ;  out  in  many  places  their  clearings  have 
denuded  the  mountains  of  all  their  larger  growth.  It 
was  tantalizing  nut  to  be  able  to  stop  and  visit  these 
people  in  their  homes.  But  my  first  opportunity  to 
make  extensive  tours  among  them  was  not  till  some 
twenty  years  later.  As  for  the  Kong,  my  comment 
is :  If  I  wished  an  exciting  river  trip,  and  had  a  com- 
fortable boat,  I  fibould  not  expect  to  find  a  more  en- 


1C6  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

chanting  stretch  of  three  hundred  miiea  anywhere  etae 

on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Luang  Prabang  was  then  the  moat  compactly  bnilt 
of  all  Siamese  cities  outside  of  Bangk<^,  which,  in 
some  respects,  it  resembled.   It  differs  from  the  other 
Lao  cities  in  having  no  great  rural  population  and  ex 
tensive  rice  plains  near  it.   Its  rice  supply  was  then 
levied  from  the  hill-tribes  aw  a  tribute  or  tax.  The 
»  itv  has  a  fine  situation  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  hill  some 
two  hundred  feet  high,  tipped,  as  usual,  with  a  pagoda. 
The  Nfim  Ktag  there  joins  the  M6  Ktog,  dividing  the 
city  into  two  uneiiual  portions.   The  view  from  the 
top  of  the  hill  is  deliKbtful.    The  inhabitants  belong 
to  a  large  branch  of  the  Tai  race,  extending  southward 
at  least  to  Cambodia.  They  are  called  the  Lilo  Pung 
Khao  (White  bellied  Lao),  as  ours,  because  of  their 
imiversal  practice  of  tattooing  the  body,  are  called  Lao 
Pung  Dam  (Blacli-l>tUied). 

The  Prince  of  Luang  Prabang  was  absent  from  the 
city  hunting  wild  elephants,  in  which  game  his  prov- 
ince abounds.   The  Chao  Uparat  gave  us  a  hospitable 
welcome.   Behind  the  city  is  a  noted  cave  in  a 
mountain,  which  the  natives  think  is  the  abode  of 
the  very  tlcrccst  (  >  il  spirits.   No  doubt  the  real  spirits 
are  the  malarial  germs  or  the  poisonous  gas  which 
later  we  found  to  be  the  chief  danger  of  the  Ohieng 
Dfio  cave.    It  was  in  this  cave  that  M.  Mouhot,  a 
noted  French  scientist,  contracted  the  fever  from  which 
he  died.   The  natives  believed  that  his  death  was 
caused  by  his  rashness  in  trespassing  uprm  the  domain 
of  the  spirits  who  preside  over  the  cave.    We  were 
astonished  at  some  sorts  of  lish  displayed  in  the 
market,  such  as  I  never  saw  anywhere  else.  Mr.  Mc- 
Carthy tells  of  assisting  at  the  capture  of  one,  a  plft 


EXPLORATION 


157 


Irak,  seven  feet  long,  with  a  body-girth  of  fonr  feet 
and  two  inches,  and  weighing  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds. 

We  remained  in  Lnang  Prabfing  six  days,  leaving  it 
on  May  14th.  I  was  very  ioalh  to  ro  so  hood.  The 
people  were  eager  for  books  jis  well  as  for  inodicine. 
It  was  the  one  place  where  Siamese  books  were  well 
understood.  We  conld  have  disponed  of  basketfnls 
of  the  Scriptures,  as  Dr.  IVoplcs  did  twenty  four  years 
later.  It  is  one  of  the  anomalies  of  tlie  twentieth  cen- 
tury that  when  we  finally  were  ready  to  establish  a 
Christian  mission,  after  the  country  had  passed  from 
non  Christian  to  Christian  rolers,  we  conld  not  get 
permission. 

From  Lflang  Prabftng  we  again  took  boat  to  Tft  Dt^a, 
some  sixty  miles  below.  There  we  bade  good  bye  to 
the  wonderful  river,  and  turned  our  faces  homeward. 
Our  elephants  were  good  travellers,  the  swiftest  we 
had  so  far  fonnd.  They  gave  ns  no  chance  to  stroll 
on  in  advance,  and  rest  till  they  should  come  up,  as 
we  had  done  before.  They  brought  us  to  Nan  iu  six 
days,  four  of  which  were  spent  in  travel  over  high 
mountain  ridges.  Our  road  passed  near  the  great  salt 
wells;  but  we  had  no  time  for  sight-seeing. 

Two  experiences  on  this  portion  of  the  trip  will  not 
be  forgotten.  One  was  a  fall  from  my  tall  elephant. 
A  flock  of  large  birds  in  covert  near  us  suddenly 
flew  up  with  loud  shrill  cries.  I  was  reclining  in  the 
howdah  at  the  time,  and  raised  myself  up  to  look  out 
under  the  hood,  and,  while  suspended  there  in  unstable 
equilihrinm,  another  and  loiuV'r  cry  dose  at  hand  n.ado 
the  beast  give  a  sudden  start  backwards,  which  landed 
me  in  a  puddle  of  water.  Fortunately  no  further  dam- 
age was  done.  Another  annoyance,  more  serious,  was 


158  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TOK  LAO 
the  land  leeches  which  we  often  encountered  when  we 
dismounted  to  walk.  The  whole  ground  and  every 
shrub  and  twig  seemed  covered  with  the  tiny  ctMtMBfc 
gensitive  to  the  leant  noise,  each  one  was  holding 
on  bv  his  tail,  and  wavinp  his  head  back  and  forth 
to  lav  hold  of  any  passing  animal.  We  soon  found 
that  they  had  a  special  fondneaa  for  the  gemt§  homo. 
Do  what  we  might,  every  hundred  jards  or  so  we 
had  to  stop  »<.  rub  them  off,  while  the  blood  ran 
profusely  fiom  their  bites.  We  had  none  of  the  herba 
which  the  Mus6  bind  on  their  legs  to  keep  them  off. 

On  Saturday  evening  we  renched  Nan,  the  first  place 
where  1  found  friends  since  leaving  Chieng  Rili.  Chao 
Itiu  irak,  whom  I  had  met  in  Chiengmai,  nephew  of  the 
Nan  Prince,  and  a  few  others,  were  soon  on  hand  to 
pivc  us  welcome  and  to  offer  any  aid  we  needed.  The 
Prince  was  a  venerable  old  man,  with  four  sons— toe 
men,  all  of  them.  The  country  waa  well  governed, 
though  it  long  continued  conservative  as  regards  the 
adoption  of  foreign  ways  and  the  welcoming  of  foreign 
trr-'.ers.  1  fell  in  love  with  NSn  at  flrat  sight,  and 
IT  .»ed  it  for  a  future  miaaion  station. 

On  our  .Icparture  from  Nun.  (^hao  Borirak  accom- 
pani^wl  us  as  far  as  Pr6,  bringing  his  own  elephanta— 
one  of  them  a  colt,  which  he  rode  astride  like  a  horae— 
the  only  one,  in  fact,  that  I  » ver  saw  so  uaed.  At  Pr« 
we  found  our  f^ovcrnment  1.-tier  not  very  effective. 
Rupees,  however,  were  effective  eiio'igh  to  prevmt  any 
long  delay.  The  ruling  authority  in  Frt  haa  alwaya 

seemed  weak. 

There  was  an  amusing  circumstance  connected  with 
an  eclipse  of  the  moon  while  we  were  there.  BIn<» 
the  conversion  of  Nto  Inta,  I  had  taken  pains  to 
announce  each  eclipse  as  it  waa  to  occur.  I  did  »o  in 


EXPLORATION  168 

Pr6  the  day  before  it  was  due.  The  eclipse  took 
i»laee  early  in  the  niyht,  and  1  exi»etted  to  hear  the 
dty  resouud  with  the  noiae  of  efery  gnn  uid  Am- 
cracker  in  the  place.  Hut  everyfhiujj  was  as  .|uiet  as 
a  funeral.  It  aeeuied  to  Im?  rej^nrded  a.s  our  eclipse. 
The  sitence  may  have  been  intended  to  tewt  our  usser 
tion  that  Rflha  would  reaotince  his  hold  without  the 
noi«',  or  |>osNibl.v  thf  ,v  w»>re  imwilliti},'  t<.  proclaim  thus 
publicly  the  sujienor  wisdom  of  the  foreigner  in 
predicting  it.  At  any  rate,  they  utterly  ignored  it, 
and  let  the  uionsfer  have  his  will  unmolested. 

My  associate  liad  Kaintd  all  (hat  could  have  l)een 
expected  from  tlie  f.)ur;  but  an  aching  tooth  was  giv- 
ing him  tjreat  trouble,  and  we  harried  on.  We  reached 
home  on  .Iniie  L"_M.  just  sixlv-eight  days  out.  We 
f.  iind  neither  family  in  very  good  health.  The  th.v 
tor's  toothache  drove  him  to  such  deHi)eratiou  that  he 
insisted  on  my  trying— all  unpractised  aa  I  waa— to 
extract  the  offending  e.velooth.  It  liroke.  Ther^*  was 
th«»  nothing  to  do  but  to  make  (he  trip  to  Bangkok 
for  the  nearest  prafeMlonal  help.  By  the  time  he  re- 
turned, it  began  to  U-  evident  that  he  conld  not  hope 
to  remain  long  in  the  field. 

Between  Hangk.ik,  Pechaburl,  and  Chiengmui,  I  had 
been  fifteen  years  in  the  tleld;  and  my  wife  had  been 
in  the  country  front  ffirllKu  d  without  change.  We  had 
both  endured  it  remarkably  well,  considering  that  we 
had  had  the  strain  of  starting  two  new  stations.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  the  year,  however,  my  wife  bad  reached 
the  limit  of  Iter  strength,  nn<l  it  l»ecanie  necessary  to 
hnrry  her  out  of  the  country.  Ho,  on  the  3d  of  Janu- 
ary, 1873,  she  was  carried  in  a  chair  to  the  boat,  and 
we  embarked  for  the  United  Btatea. 


MICROCOPY  RESOLUTION  T£ST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2i 


j£    APPLIED  irvVIGE 


Las\  Mtjin  ^ifeet 

Rochester.  New  jrk  UfcO^  ijSA 
'""6;  0300  -  P'>one 

'It-}  .^fl»     =1989  -  Fa. 


XIV 


THE  FIRST  FURLOUGH 


HE  tour  of  the  previous  season  had  been  so 


hasty  and  unsatisfactory,  that  I  was  very 


anxious,  if  possible,  to  duplicate  the  homeward 
stretch  of  it  as  far  as  Nan,  then  descend  the  Pitsanulok 
Forli  to  the  Meaam,  and  so  follow  my  family  to  Bang- 
kok. But  would  it  be  safe  to  leave  my  wife  to  make 
the  river  trip  without  me,  when  she  was  in  such  weak 
condition,  and  burdened  with  the  care  of  four  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  of  whom  was  but  two  years  old? 
I  embarked  and  travelled  with  them  as  far  as  the  land- 
ing for  Lampun — where  we  must  separate,  if  I  were 
to  cross  over  to  Nan— still  uncertain  as  to  what  I 
ought  to  do.  It  was  then  Friday.  We  decided  to  stop 
there  over  Sunday,  and  see  hew  matters  looked  on 
Monday  morninp:.  The  quiet  and  rest  of  the  boat  were 
improving  her  condition  somewhat;  and  her  own 
bravery  made  up  whatever  was  lacking  there.  I  had 
secured  a  strong  letter  from  the  Prince,  calling  for 
the  best  of  steersmen  through  the  rapids,  and  for 
protection  where  the  boat  should  stop  for  the  night. 
So,  with  some  anxiety,  but  with  strong  faith  that  the 
plan  in  itself  so  desirable  would  prosper,  we  separated 
— one  party  {joinff  by  boat  down  the  MA  I'ing,  and  the 
other  going  afoot  across  country  to  Lampfln.  For  the 
presoit  we  leave  the  wife  and  children,  to  hear  their 
report  when  we  meet  again. 


100 


THE  FIRST  FURLOUGH  161 

My  plan  was  to  rely  on  getting  elephants  from  point 
to  point.  Elephants  are  always  very  hard  to  get;  ao 
it  seemed  doubtful  whether  my  confidence  were  faith 
or  presumption.  But  I  was  remarkably  favoured.  At 
Lampfin  there  was  not  an  elephant  nearer  than  the 
forests,  save  two  of  the  governor's  own.  T  had  trusted 
to  his  friendship,  and  it  did  not  faii  me.  I  got  off 
in  fine  style  next  morning  on  the  governor's  two  ele- 
phants, with  a  letter  to  all  the  goyemors  on  the  route 
directing  them  to  see  that  I  was  supplied  with  what- 
ever I  needed  on  the  journey. 

I  felt  strong  in  having  with  me,  in  the  person  of 
Nan  Inta,  so  wise  a  teacher  and  such  a  living  witness 
of  the  power  of  the  Gospel.  On  our  first  visits  it  has 
asnally  seemed  wise  to  spend  much  of  the  time  in  vis- 
iting and  making  known  the  Gospel  privately  to  those 
of  reputation,  as  we  know  one  wise  missionary  did 
in  old  times.  It  is  necessary  to  give  the  rulers  a  clear 
idea  of  the  non-political  natnre  of  our  work.  In  order 
to  do  this,  we  must  show  positively  what  our  message 
is— not  merely  that  we  are  religious  teachers,  but  that, 
as  such,  we  have  a  message  different  from  all  others, 
not  antagonistic  or  hostile  to  them,  but  supplementing 
rather  that  which  they  offer. 

In  visiting  among  the  princely  families  in  the  old 
city  of  Lakawn  we  met  one  most  interesting  case.  It 
was  that  of  an  aged  bedridden  Princess  high  in  rank, 
who  received  the  Gospel  with  all  readiness  of  mind. 
By  nature,  habit,  and  grace  she  had  been  very  religious. 
She  bad  in  her  day  built  temples  and  rest-houses,  had 
feasted  Buddhist  monks,  and  had  fasted  times  with- 
out number,  in  order  to  lay  up  a  store  of  merit  for  the 
great  future.  She  hoped  sometimes  that  she  had 
laid  up  a  sufficient  store;  but  the  Are  and  the  eight 


162  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

commands  were  against  her.  She  had  killed  animals; 
and  the  command  is  explicit,  and  condemns  without  a 
saviour.  That  the  Creator  of  all  had  made  these 
creatures  ior  our  use  and  benefit  was  a  new  idea.  That 
of  itself  would  remove  much  of  the  burden  on  her  con- 
science. And  as  one  after  another  of  the  great  truths 
of  revelation  was  opened  up  to  her,  particularly  the 
doctrine  of  the  incarnation  and  atonement  of  our  di- 
vine-human Redeemer,  it  seemed  as  if  the  burden  was 
lifted.  Nan  Inta  was  himself  a  living  testimony  that  the 
Christian  teaching  can  and  does  give  instantaneous 
relief  when  simply  believed.  It  is  difficult  to  tell 
which  was  more  touchir<^,  the  sympathetic  earnestness 
of  the  speaker,  or  the  comfort  it  imparted  to  the 
hearer.  The  Princess  begged  us  to  come  again  and 
often.  And  neither  of  us  found  any  other  place  so 
attractive. 

After  a  week  spent  in  Lakawn,  we  departed  on  our 
way  to  Nan.  The  next  Sunday  we  spent  in  the  forest 
I  look  back  with  delightful  memories  to  the  occa- 
sional Sabbaths  thus  spent  in  the  deep  forest  after  a 
busy  week  with  no  rest  and  no  privacy— a  Sabbath 
in  solitude,  away  from  every  noise,  and  even  every 
song  except  the  music  of  the  wind  and  the  song  of 
birds!  We  always  had  service  with  our  men;  and 
then,  under  the  shade  of  some  cool  spreading  tree,  or 
beside  a  flowing  brook,  one  could  be  alone  and  yet  not 
alone.  No  one  more  needs  such  retirement  than  a 
missionary,  whose  work  is  always  a  giving-out,  with 
fewer  external  aids  for  resupply  than  others  have. 

The  next  Sunday  we  spent  in  Wieng  Sa,  the  first 
of  the  numerous  little  outlying  towns  of  Nan.  On 
Monday  we  reached  Nfin  itself,  the  limit  of  our  tour  in 
that  direction.  The  country  was  wdl  governed,  the 


THE  FIRST  FURLOUGH  163 


princes  intelligent,  and  the  common  people  friendly. 
Hut  the  special  attraction  that  Niln  had  for  me  largely 
centred  around  one  man,  the  I'rince's  nephew,  Chao 
Borirak — ^the  one  that  rode  astride  the  young  elephant 
to  see  us  safe  to  Pro  on  our  earlier  trip,  with  whom 
we  used  to  talk  religion  about  the  camp-fire  ,  till  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning.  We  left  him  then  ap- 
paroitly  on  the  border  land  of  Christianity,  with 
strong  hope  that  he  soon  would  be  ready  to  profess 
publicly  the  faith  v.hich  he  was  almost  ready  to  con- 
fess to  us.  His  rank  and  connection  would  make  him 
of  great  assistance  in  opening  a  station  in  Nan,  which, 
next  to  Chiengmai,  was  the  most  important  province 
in  the  Lao  region.  Again  he  offered  us  a  warm  wel- 
come, giving  up  his  time  to  visiting  with  ns  the  rulers 
and  the  monasteries,  in  one  of  which  his  son  had  long 
been  an  abbot.  It  seemed  as  if  Nan  Inta's  experience 
would  be  all  that  was  needed  to  settle  his  faith.  At 
his  request  I  asked  and  received  permission  '•om  the 
Prince  for  him  again  to  accompany  us — with  his  young 
elephant  foal  and  her  mother — five  days'  journey  to 
Tft  It,  where  I  was  to  take  boat.  Our  walks  by  duy 
and  our  talks  by  night  are  never  to  be  forgotten.  But 
the  convenient  season  to  make  a  public  profession  never 
came.  He  lived  in  hope  of  seeing  a  station  in  Nan,  but 
died  not  long  before  the  station  was  established. 

At  Ta  It  no  boat  was  to  be  had  either  for  sale  or 
for  hire.  But  my  face  was  turned  toward  home,  and  I 
would  have  gone  on  a  raft.  I  had  to  do  the  next  thing 
— to  take  a  small  dugout  which  the  Prince  got  for 
me.  and  go  on  to  TItaradit,  the  next  town  below.  There 
I  was  able  to  purchase  a  boat,  which  I  afterwards  sold 
in  Bim^ok  for  what  it  cost  me.  Nftn  Inta  was  the 
steersman,  and  my  four  men  rowed.  Our  longest  stop 


m 


it 
«: 


I  • 


f 

't  I  -f 


164  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

was  at  PitsannlSk,  where  the  Siamese  mission  now 

has  a  station.  On  reaching  Bangkok  I  was  delighted 
to  find  that  my  family  had  made  their  long  trip  down 
the  other  river  in  safety,  though  not  without  great 
anxiety,  and  some  threatened  danger.  Our  oldest 
daughter  had  been  quite  ill  on  the  w.  y.  Once  they 
came  perilously  near  falling  a  prey  to  a  band  of 
robbers.  It  was  only  by  a  clever  mse  of  the  captain 
that  they  escaped.  As  soon  as  he  caught  sight  of  the 
suspicious-looKing  group  of  men  on  a  sand-bar  ahead, 
he  had  the  gong  loudly  sounder!  That  and  the  wav- 
ing American  flag  evidently  made  them  think  that  this 
was  the  leading  boat  of  some  prince's  flotilla.  They 
incontinently  fled  into  the  forest.  At  the  next  stop- 
ping-place our  boatmen  learned  that  it  was,  indeed, 
a  marauding  band  that  had  committed  many  depreda- 
tions on  passing  boats.   Wh;.  a  merciful  preservation ! 

We  spent  a  few  weeks  in  Bangkok,  resting  and  vis- 
iting in  the  home  of  my  father-in-law,  Dr.  Bradley,  of 
sainted  memory.  It  proved  to  be  the  last  time  that 
we  ever  saw  him.  He  lived  only  a  few  months  after 
that. 

In  fifteen  years  the  world  had  moved.  Going  round 

"  the  Cape,"  even  in  a  good  clipper  ship  like  the  David 
Brown,  had  become  too  slow.  We  took,  instead,  the 
steamship  Patroclus  from  Singapore  to  London,  via 
the  Suea  Canal.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Keyesberry,  a  mis- 
sionary friend  of  Dr.  Bradley's,  had  been  waiting  to  find 
an  escort  to  England  for  two  young  sens  and  a 
daughter.  We  gladly  undertook  that  service,  and  so 
had  a  flock  of  seven  young  folks  to  look  after ! 

We  were  barely  under  way  when  our  own  children 
broke  out  with  the  measles.  The  disease,  fortunately, 
proved  to  be  of  a  mild  type,  and  our  new  chains  were 


THE  FIRST  FURLOUGH  165 


not  hard  to  ruannge.  So,  on  the  whole,  we  got  along 
very  well.  In  London  we  had  unexpected  trouble  be- 
cause the  friend  who  was  to  meet  Alice  Keyesberry 
at  the  dock  failed  to  appear,  and,  strangely  enough,  we 
had  received  no  memorandum  of  her  destination.  It 
cost  us  two  days'  search  to  discover  her  friends  at  the 
Walthamstow  Mission  School. 

The  boys  I  had  promised  to  convoy  as  far  as  Edin- 
burgh. So,  leaving  my  family  in  London,  I  had  the 
great  pleasure  of  a  visit  to  the  beautiful  Scotch  cap- 
ital. The  day  spent  there  was  to  me  a  memorable 
one.  It  was,  however,  a  matter  of  great  regret  that, 
being  so  near  tlte  Highlands,  t  could  not  also  visit  the 
original  home  of  my  ancestors. 

We  arrived  in  New  YoA  on  Jaly  11th,  1873,  after 
an  absence  of  fifteen  years.  Under  any  circumstances 
fifteen  years  would  work  great  changes.  But  that 
particular  fifteen  had  included  the  Civil  War.  The 
changes  in  the  South  were  heart-rending. 

Though  North  Carolina  was  drawn  late  into  the 
Confederacy,  it  is  said  that  she  furnished  a  larger 
number  per  capita  of  soldiers  and  had  a  larger  num- 
ber of  casualties  than  any  other  state  in  the  South. 
The  havoc  among  my  old  schoolmates  and  pupils,  and 
among  my  flock,  was  distressing,  many  places,  too, 
the  sectional  feeling  was  still  bitter.  The  wisest  of 
the  people,  however,  were  becoming  fully  reconciled 
to  the  results  of  the  war.  The  largest  slaveholder  in 
my  own  section  assured  me  that  the  freeing  of  his 
slaves  had  been  a  boon  to  him,  and  that  he  was  clear- 
ing more  from  hi.s  old  farm  under  free  labour  than 
he  ha"^  done  before  with  slaves. 

Unfortunately  in  the  churches  the  feeling  was  more 
bitter.  My  old  associate,  Dr.  Mattoon,  had  accepted 


166  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

the  presidency  of  Biddle  Institute  at  Charlotte-^iow 
Biddle  University  (colored).  For  a  time  he  was  very 
coldly  received  except  by  such  broad  minded  men  as 
his  oid  Princeton  classmate,  and  my  friend,  Dr.  Charles 
Phillips.  By  virtne,  however,  of  his  noble  Christian 
character  and  his  conservative  bearing,  Dr.  Mattoon 
overcame  these  prejudices,  and  lived  to  be  welcomed 
in  the  largest  churches  in  the  state.  I  f  nt  most 
of  my  furlon^i  in  North  Carolina;  and  /nally  I 
received  a  welcome  almost  as  warm  as  if  .ere  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  Houthern  Board.  Returned  missionaries 
were  not  numerous  then.  It  was  not  an  uncommon 
thing  for  me  to  lecture  in  churches  which  had  never 
before  f   n  the  face  of  a  foreign  missionary. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  in  the  United  States  news 
came  of  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Vrooman;  and  my  first 
duty  was  to  find  a  si'ccessur.  For  myself,  and  even  for 
my  family,  I  could  endure  to  return  without  one.  But 
I  could  not  face  the  distressing  api)eals  from  the  sick 
whose  ailments  I  was  powerless  to  relieve.  In  my  vis- 
its among  friends  in  North  (Uirolina  T  met  a  young 
medical  graduate,  Dr.  M.  A.  Cheek,  who  received  from 
warm  friends  of  the  mission  flattering  recommenda- 
tions for  the  place.  He  himself  was  pleased  with  the 
opening,  and  would  willingly  accept  it,  if  he  could  first 
take  a  graduate  course  in  surgery.  This  was  easily 
arranged,  and  he  was  ready  to  return  with  us  the  fol- 
lowing summer. 

The  hardest  thing  to  face  was  the  parting  with  our 
children.  But  the  bitterness  of  this  pang  was  soft- 
ened by  the  kindness  of  friends  which  opened  the  best 
of  Christian  homes  and  schools  to  receive  them.  We 
can  never  sufficiently  express  our  gratitude  for  the 
kindness  shown  us  in  this  matter  by  the  late  Mrs.  E. 


THE  FIRST  FURLOUGH  167 


N.  Grant  and  Miss  Mitchell  of  tbe  StatesTille  Female 
College,  and  to  Mrs.  McNeill,  the  widow  of  my  old 

pastor. 

These  two  great  questions  settled,  we  left  North 
Cr -olina  in  March,  1874— my  wife  with  the  two 

younger  children,  to  visit  friends  and  relatives  in  the 
North;  and  I,  as  1  hoiKid,  to  visit  the  churches  and  the 
seminaries  in  search  of  recruits.  But  a  cold  con- 
tracted on  the  trip  north  ran  into  a  dangerons  attack 
of  pleuro  pneuinunia,  followed  by  a  slow  recovery.  Thus 
I  missed  my  visits  to  the  seminaries  and  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly  in  8t.  Louis. 

The  return  to  the  field  was  by  way  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  we  reached  Bangliolj  on  August  27th,  1874. 
On  November  14th  a  son  was  given  us  to  take  tht 
place  of  the  children  left  behind.  In  December  be- 
gan our  river  journey  to  Chiengmai.  The  river  was 
low,  and  we  were  a  month  and  a  day  from  Banglioli 
to  Rahtog.  There  we  found  four  missionaries  of  the 
Nova  Scotia  Baptist  Board  seeicing  to  establish  a  sta- 
tion amoug  the  Ivarens  of  Slam.  Hut  they  found  their 
Tillages  too  small  and  too  widely  scattered  to  justify 
the  p.  II..  •!  -^nt  of  a  station.  So  they  were  return- 
ing *  On  Saturday  night  we  ail  dined  to- 
gether, ^  l  iid  a  sociable  hour.  On  Sunday  evening 
we  drew  up  our  boats  side  by  side,  and  had  a  prayer- 
meeting  that  we  shall  long  remember.  There  was 
something  delightful  in  thus  meeting  and  enjoying 
Chrisiian  fellowship  on  a  sand-bar,  and  then  passing 
on  to  our  respective  fields  of  work.  Some  of  these 
men  afterwards  went  to  India,  and  started  the  Telega 
mission,  which  has  had  phenomenal  success. 

There  were  still  the  rapids  and  four  more  weeks 
of  travel  before  we  could  reach  onr  LAo  home.  Bat 


168  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

the  Loiiit'  couiing  at  last  was  delightfnl.  Our  faithfal 
old  coolie,  Lung  In,  with  his  wife,  met  us  in  a  Kiiiah 
boat  three  da.vs'  journey  below  Ch-engmai,  with  fruit 
and  f»>wl8  le«t  we  should  be  iu  waut.  Then  the  tall 
figure  of  Nan  Inta,  with  his  face  like  a  benediction! 

It  was  February  7th,  187'),  when  at  last  we  drew 
lip  abmgsid.'  our  own  landing  plare,  and  felt  the  warm 
handshalie  of  old  friends.  Aiuoug  the  lAo  at  last!— 
and  no  place  that  we  had  seen  would  we  exchange 
for  our  I  fio  home.  For  the  first  time  since  our  ar- 
rival in  1807  we  had  a  permanent  house  to  enter ! 


XV 


IfUANQ  KEN  AND  CHIENQ  DAO 

R.  CUEEK'8  arrival  was  a  matter  of  great  re- 


joicing.  He  was  very  young— only  twenty- 


one,  in  fact,  (in  the  day  lie  sailed  from  San 
Francisco.  The  (rvinK  drudpory  that  fie  and  others 
of  our  early  medical  inissionaries  had  to  s?ndure,  ia  now 
in  great  measnre  obviated  throagb  the  help  of  native 
assistants.  The  remainder  of  the  year  1876  I  de- 
voted ^ery  largely  to  assisting  in  the  meilical  work,  in- 
terpreting, helping  in  operations,  and  earing  for  the 
Bouls  of  the  numerous  patients,  without  feeling  the 
weight  of  resrionsibility  for  their  jihysical  condition, 
as  I  had  done  before.  Dr.  Cbeeic  came  out  a  single 
man ;  bnt,  lilte  others  before  him,  he  lost  his  heart  on 
the  way.  Toward  the  end  of  that  year  he  went  down 
to  Bangkok,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Brad- 
ley. He  returned  to  Cbiengmai  just  as  Mr.  Wilson  was 
ready  to  start  for  the  United  States  on  his  second 
furlough.  The  April  communion  was  postponed  a 
week  that  the  newly-arrived  and  the  departing  mission- 
aries might  commnne  together  before  separating.  It 
was  Mrs.  Wilson's  last  commnnion  with  us. 

In  May,  1870,  Nan  Inta  was  ordained  our  first  ruling 
elder.  The  story  has  often  been  told  that  before  bis 
ordination  the  Confession  of  Faith  was  given  him  to 
read  carefully,  since  he  would  be  asked  whether  he 
subscribed  to  its  doctrines.   When  he  bad  finished  the 

in 


170  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

reading,  li«  remarked  that  he  saw  nothlnp  |k<  nliar  in 
itH  teachings.    It  was  vor;  nnicli  like  what  he  had  read 
in  Paul's  EpiHtles!    In  Jauuury  V&  Kaiuun,  the  widow 
of  Nol  Bonyo.  was  baptised.   It  was  thus  appmpri 
ately  given  to  lici-  to  Im»  tlip  tliHt  woiimn  received  into 
tlie  comrimniou  of  the  church.   Two  of  her  daughters, 
and  I'a  Tenj,'.  the  wife  of  Nfln  Inta,  noon  followed. 
Lung  In  was  elected  the  first  <!eii«  ..n.  hm  was  too  mod 
est  to  be  ordained  to  that  ofVicf.    Meanwhile  lie  was 
becoming  a  most  useful  asslHtant  in  the  hospital. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  office  of  hospital  nurse  Is 
one  of  the  most  ditficult  to  get  a  Lao  to  till.  Lung 
In,  however,  was  not  a!»nvo  the  most  menial  service  for 
the  sick.   His  real  Huccessor  was  not  found  until  the 
present  Incumbent,  Dr.  K«o,  was  trained.   Dr.  Mc- 
Kean's  testimony  is  that  it  would  be  scarcely  more 
ditlicnlt  to  procure  a  good  surgeon  than  to  fill  Kdo's 
place  as  nurse  and  assistant  among  the  hospital  pa- 
tients. 

During  the  summer  of  187<!.  in  company  with  NOn 
Inta,  I  made  a  tour  an»ong  the  lour  nearest  provinces 
to  the  north  and  west.   The  governor  of  Mflang  K6n 
had  long  given  promise  of  beccmiing  a  Christian,  and 
now  invited  me  t<»  visit  his  people.    On  his  frecjuent 
visits  to  Chiengmai  on  business,  he  always  called  on 
me,  and  no  subject  was  so  interesting  to  him  as  the 
subject  of  religion.    Before  the  proclasiiatitm  of  tol- 
eration, while  the  common  people  were  still  afraid  of 
making  a  public  profession  of  Christianity,  our  most 
effective  work  was  probably  that  with  the  higher  class 
of  officials,  who  st«od  iu  somewhat  less  fear  of  the 
known  antagonism  of  the  Chao  Uparat.   They  were, 
besides,  a  more  interesting  class  than  the  common 
people,  for  they  were  better  educated,  were  more  ac- 


HUANQ  K^N  AND  CHIENO  DAO  171 


customed  in  their  daily  datiee  to  weigh  ai-gnnients  and 

decide  on  qneHtionH  of  pvidonco,  nnd  many  of  them  liad 
been  trained  in  he  religiouH  order. 

This  Rovernor  of  Mfiang  Kta  had  learned  enongh  of 
thi'  ivnois  of  CliriHtianity  to  hoconie  nnaettled  nnd  dip- 
satiKtled  with  the  proHpectH  of  utlvation  offered  by  a 
purely  ethical  reiigion.  He  saw  the  weakness  of  the 
foundation  on  which  he  had  been  taught  to  rely,  and 
the  ditrerencc  l)otw(  n  tlio  authors  of  tlie  two  religion.s. 
Ko  he  stood  on  the  border  land  between  the  twu,  at 
the  very  gate,  wishing  to  enter  in,  but  with  many  ob- 
stacles in  his  way,  and  strong  opposing  inflnoiees  to 
overcome. 

My  first  objective,  then,  on  this  tour  was  Mtlang  Kta. 
The  governor  had  aslied  me  to  come  and  smooth  tin 

way  for  him  by  toachiog  his  under-offlcials  and  his 
townsmen.  N  In  Inta  was  the  living,  concrete  argu- 
ment, and  he  put  his  whole  heart  into  it.  We  had  a 
few  days  of  deeply  interesting  work.  Few,  however, 
saw  the  matter  as  the  governor  did.  Most  of  them 
"  would  consider  it."  8ome  would  go  further  and  say 
that  they  worshipped  Jesns  under  the  name  of  th^ 
promised  Buddha  Metraya.  yet  to  come. 

From  Mfiang  K«^n  we  went  to  Chleng  Dut  when, 
we  vi8?ted  the  great  cave  with  its  famous  Cuddbist 
shrine.  Ever  since  Nfln  Inta  becar"»  a  Chrir-ian,  be 
had  been  anxions  to  test  the  truv  >f  some  f  the 
legends  connected  with  the  place — a  thing  he  dared 
not  do  before.  The  cave  is  the  abode  of  the  great 
Lawa  spirit,  for  fear  of  offending  whom  Prince 
Kawilorot  was  afraid  to  allow  us  to  build  to  the  north 
of  the  city  bridge  in  Chiengmai.  Ohicng  Duo  moun- 
tain, which  rises  above  the  cave,  is  twven  thousand 
one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  high— one  of  the  highest 


172  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

peaks  in  all  S?iam,  and  visible  from  Chiengmai,  some 
thirty-seven  miles  away.  One  of  the  sources  of  the  Mfi 
Ping  River,  twenty  feet  wide  and  knee-deep,  flows 
bodily  out  from  the  cave.  Since  uo  animal  is  allowed 
to  be  killed  in  so  sacred  a  place,  the  stream  abounds 
in  a  great  variety  of  beautiful  fish  waiting  for  the 
food  which  no  visitor  fails  to  give  them.  The  scramble 
for  it  is  as  interesting  to  watch  as  the  perfonnance  of 
the  sea  lions  at  San  Francisco. 

The  legend  is  that  no  one  can  cross  the  stream  in- 
side the  cave  and  return  alive;  and  that  beyond  the 
stream,  under  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  there  is  an 
image  of  pure  gold  seven  cubits  high.  One  enters  the 
cave  at  a  little  distance  from  the  stream,  and  finds 
first  a  grand  chamber  which  is  a  veritable  temple,  with 
ar  bed  dome,  natural  pulpit,  and  innumerable  images 
of  Buddha,  large  and  small.  This  place  is  regarded 
as  a  most  sacred  shrine.  Buddhist  monks  are  always 
there  performing  their  devotions.  The  chamber  is  so 
dark  that  thev  have  to  use  tapers  to  see  to  read.  The 
dim  light  and  the  long-drawn  tones  of  the  worshippers 
prodnce  a  very  weird  impression." 

From  the  temple-cb amber  narrow  passages  lead  otf 
in  different  directions,  till  there  is  danger  of  losing 
one's  way  in  the  labyrinth.  I  followed  NSn  Inta  and 
his  sons  to  the  stream,  which  is  reached  at  some 
distance  farther  on.  Being  neither  tall  nor  a  swim- 
mer, I  stopped  and  sauntered  about  in  the  various 
rooms,  waiting  for  my  companions  to  verify  or  to  dis- 
prove the  lej;.  rid.  Needless  to  say,  both  parts  of  it 
were  i)rcved  myths.  My  companions  did  return  alive; 
and  no  golden  image  was  found.  The  cave  is  too 
damp  to  make  it  safe  for  one  to  remain  long  in  those 
distant  pawages.  Farther  on  the  tapers  burned  but 


IftANO  KfiN  AND  CHIENG  DAO  173 


very  dimly;  and  one  would  not  choose  to  be  left  there 
in  pitch  darkness.  We  could  understand  very  welJ 
how  the  legend  arose  of  Yaks  that  devour  those  that 
intrude  into  their  dark  caverns.  There  is  no  doubt 
of  the  presence  of  a  deadly  gas  much  more  to  be 
feared  than  the  spirit  of  the  great  Lawa  king,  which 
is  believed  to  have  taken  up  his  abode  there.  We  all 
exiwrienced  more  or  less  of  the  symptoms  premoni- 
tory of  malarial  attack,  and  before  we  got  back  to  tlie 
town  Nan  Inta  was  shaking  with  a  genuine  chill.  A 
heroic  dose,  however,  of  Warburg's  tincture  with 
quinine  soon  set  him  to  rights.  In  this  case,  then,  as 
in  many  others,  there  is  a  foundation  of  truth  at  the 
bottom  of  the  legend. 

That  night  we  had  a  great  audience.  It  was  gen- 
erally known  that  we  intended  to  explore  the  cave,  and 
many,  no  doubt,  came  to  see  how  we  had  fared.  It 
was  well  that  N9n  Inta  had  so  far  recovered  from  his 
morning's  chill  as  to  be  ready  to  join  in  bearing  testi- 
mony not  only  to  the  falsity  of  the  legend,  but  also 
to  the  truth  of  the  Gosi^el.  It  was  a  bright  moonlight 
night,  and  the  people  listened  till  very  late,  while  we 
gang  hymns,  preached  the  Gospel,  and  pointed  them 
to  the  better  way.  The  result  was  seen  years  after 
in  the  founding  of  a  church  there. 

All  these  provinces  that  we  were  now  visiting,  and 
others  more  distant  still,  were  originally  settled  by 
refugees  driven  from  the  more  southern  districts  by  the 
persecution  for  witchcraft.  Now  they  are  important 
provinces.  Since  these  people  had  been  ruthlessly 
driven  forth  because  of  the  spirits,  I  thought  they 
would  willingly  accept  any  way  of  escape  from  their 
control.  But  they  seemed,  if  anything,  more  super- 
Btttions  and  harder  to  reach  than  others.  Having  suf- 


174  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


fered  once,  as  they  supposed,  from  the  malicious  power 

of  the  spirits,  tliey  seemed  even  riore  than  others 
to  dread  to  incur  their  anger  again  by  deserting  them. 
But  there  were  many  hopeful  exceptions. 

Mftang  Vrio  was  the  next  city  visited.  From  the  in- 
cidents of  our  stay  there  I  select  the  cases  of  two 
persons  who  excited  our  deepest  sympathy.  One  was 
an  aged  Buddhist  monk,  a  Nglo,  who,  with  a  younger 
companion,  visited  our  tent  daily.  The  monk  was 
a  venerable  man,  with  striking  features,  serene  coun- 
teuance,  earnest  and  intelligent.  His  long  life  had 
^een  spent  in  worship,  meditation,  and  study.  All 
this  he  soon  told  us  with  some  quite  natural  pride. 
While  not  bold,  he  was  not  reticent,  freely  stating  his 
own  doctrines,  hopes,  and  fears,  and  asking  ours.  To 
the  question  what  were  his  hopes  for  a  future  life,  he 
frankly  said,  "I  don't  know.  How  can  I?  I  have 
tried  to  keep  the  conunandments,  have  performed  my 
devotions,  have  counted  my  beads.  But  whether  I 
shall  Ro  up  or  down  [indicating  the  directions  with  his 
finger]  I  do  not  know.  I  have,  done  what  my  books 
tell  me,  but  I  have  no  light  here  [pointing  to  his  heart]. 
Can  the  teacher's  religion  give  me  any  light?" 

The  earnestness  and  the  desjtondency  of  the  man 
drew  me  to  him.  I  asked,  what  of  his  failures  and 
transgressions?  "  That,"  he  said,  "  is  the  dark  point. 
My  books  say  that  all  my  good  deeds  shall  be  re- 
warded, but  the  failures  and  transgressions  must  be 
punished  before  I  can  reach  Nirvana,  the  final 
emancipation  of  the  soul  by  the  extinction  of  all  de- 
sire." "  How  long  will  that  lie? "  we  ask.  He  an- 
swered by  giving  a  number  that  would  baffle  even 
astronomers,  who  are  accustomed  to  deal  in  almost 
fabulous  numbers. 


MUANd  KftN  AND  CIIIENG  DAO 


173 


"  IJut  is  not  thai  virtually  endless?  " 

"Yes;  but  what  shall  we  do?  That  is  what  our 
books  say." 

"But  is  there  no  room  for  pardon?" 

"  No.  Buddha  only  points  out  the  way  that  he  fol- 
lowed himself.  Be  reached  the  goal  by  the  same  al- 
most endless  joui-nev.  How  shall  we  hope  to  do  so 
by  any  shorter  i  !•  different  route?  " 

"  But  supposing  there  is  a  way — that  there  is  a  great 
sovereign  of  the  univei'se,  before  all  Buddhas  and 
higher  than  all  Buddhas,  wlio  has  the  riglit  and  the 
authority  to  grant  full  pardon  through  his  own  in- 
finite merit,  and  his  vicarious  assumption  of  all  our 
obligations  and  paymoit  of  all  our  debts.  Would  not 
that  be  a  joyful  message?" 

"  Yes;  if  true,  it  would  be." 

And  so  we  ai^ued  till  light  seemed  to  gleam  for  once 

intf  his  mind.  But  the  image  of  the  dear  old  man 
pointing  up  and  then  down  with  the  sad  confession,  "  I 
know  not  whither  I  shall  go,"  is  a  vision  that  has  sad- 
dened me  many  a  time  since. 

The  other  case  of  s[)ecial  interest  I  state  as  it  oc- 
curred, with  no  attempt  at  explanation  of  the  dream 
involved  in  the  story. — On  the  morning  after  our  ar- 
rival, Nan  Inta  and  I  started  out  to  visit  monasteries  or 
houses,  wherever  we  might  find  listeners.  I  was 
dressed  in  white  clothes,  and  Nun  Inta  had  on  a  white 
jacket.  We  had  made  a  number  of  calls,  and  were 
about  to  pass  by  a  house  in  which  we  saw  only  an 
elderly  woman  and  some  children,  presumably  her 
grandchildren.  We  were  surprised  to  see  her  come 
down  from  her  house  and  run  out  after  us,  and 
jircstrating  herself  with  the  customary  salutation  given 
to  priests  and  princes,  she  begged  us  to  stop  and  come 


176  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

in.  We  accepted  her  invitation,  tliough  surprised  at 
her  evident  demonstrations  of  joy.  Sitting  down  on 
the  mat,  we  began  to  explain  that  we  were  teachers 
of  religion,  pointing  ont  the  sure  way  of  happiness 
both  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  to  come.  Our  mes- 
sage was  one  from  the  great  God  and  Creator  to  all 
races  and  nations,  inviting  them  to  return  from  all 
other  refuges,  and  He  would  give  them  an  inheritance 
as  His  children  in  the  life  to  come.  She  listened  with 
marked  interest  as  we  explained  to  her  our  religion, 
and  urged  her  to  accept  it.  We  were  surprised  at  the 
explanation  she  gave  of  her  intense  interest. 

Not  long  before  our  arrival  she  had  a  dream  that 
two  men  dressed  in  white  came  to  her  to  teach  her. 
What  they  were  to  teach  her  she  did  not  +now;  but 
when  she  saw  us  walking  up  the  street  she  said,  "  There 
is  the  fultiluient  of  my  dream! "    She  had  watched  ua 
as  we  entered  other  houses,  fearful  lest  we  should  omit 
hers.   Now  she  was  so  glud  we  had  come.   It  was  at 
least  a  strange  coincidence,  for  she  affirmed  that  the 
dream  was  before  she  had  ever  heard  of  us.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  cause,  it  was  a  delist  to  instruct 
one  who  seeimd  lo  receive  all  that  we  said  as  a  direct 
messaf^e  to  lier.    This  at  once  attracted  Nan  luta  to 
her,  and  she  listened  to  him  with  frequent  exclama- 
tions of  delight,  while  he,  in  his  earnest  manner,  ex- 
plained the  Gospel  niessa«io  of  pardon  and  life  eternal 
through  Him  who  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  behold  He 
is  alive  for  evermore.    She  said  her  one  great  desire 
had  been  to  escape  from  the  punishment  of  her  sins; 
but  she  never  before  had  known  that  there  was  any 
other  way  but  to  sulfer  for  them  herself.    She,  too, 
was  a  Ngio.   We  visited  her  frequently  during  the 
week  of  our  stay  'n  Miiang  Pao,  and  to  the  last  she 


M&ANO  KEN  AND  CHIENG  DAO 


177 


interpreted  our  roming  as  the  fulfilment  of  her  dream. 
This  was  the  last  that  we  knew  either  of  her  or  of  the 
aged  monk.  Before  we  visited  the  place  again  she  was 
dead,  and  he  had  moved  away. 

In  those  days  when  the  people  were  afraid  to  make 
a  public  profession  of  Christianity,  it  would  have  been 
a  great  gain  to  the  mission  if  we  could  have  had 
schools,  and  used  them  as  a  means  of  evangelizing  the 
youth.  A  first  attempt,  indeed,  had  been  made  by  Mr. 
Wilson  with  a  few  Burmese  boys.  A  young  Burmese 
who  had  been  trained  in  Maulmein,  and  who  spoke 
English,  was  employed  to  teach  ihem  under  Mr.  Wil 
son's  oversight,  in  the  hope  that  Lao  boys  would  pres- 
ently join  them.  This  hope  was  not  realized,  and  the 
experiment  was  presently  abandoned. 

The  first  call  for  a  Christian  school  was  for  the 
education  of  girls.  In  the  first  Christian  families  girls 
predominated.  Mrs.  McGilvary  collected  six  or  eight 
Christian  girls,  and  devoted  as  much  time  to  them 
as  her  strength  and  her  family  duties  would  permit. 
They  were  really  private  pupils,  living  on  our  premises 
and  in  our  family.  More  wished  to  come  than  she 
could  do  justice  to.  Hence  about  this  time  an  appeal 
was  made  for  two  single  ladies  to  devote  their  who^e 
time  to  the  school.  But  it  was  not  till  four  years 
later  that  Miss  Edna  E.  Cole  and  Miss  Mary  Oump 
bell  of  the  Oxford  Female  Seminary,  01  '  >,  reached 
Chiengmai.  Very  soon  they  had  twenty  pupils.  From 
this  small  beginning  has  grown  our  large  Girls'  School. 
Two  of  Mrs.  McGilvary 's  pupils  were  soon  made  as- 
sistants. These  and  others  of  the  first  group  became 
fine  women,  who  have  left  their  mark  on  the  church 
and  the  country. 
Notwithstanding  onr  disappointment  in  the  delay 


178  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

of  the  school  for  boys,  it  proved  a  wise  arrangement 
that  the  Girls'  School  was  started  first.  A  mission 
church  is  sure  to  be  greatl.v  handicapped  whose  young 
men  must  either  remain  single— which  they  will  Tiot  do 
— or  be  compelled  to  talce  ignorant  non Christian  wives. 
Such  are  a  dead  weight  to  the  husband,  aLd  tlie  chil 
dren  almost  surely  follow  the  mother.  After  mar- 
riage, the  almost  universal  custom  of  the  country  has 
been  that  the  husband  lives  with  the  wife's  family. 
He  becomes  identified  with  it,  and  for  the  time  a  sub- 
ordinate member  of  it,  almost  to  the  extent  of  becom- 
ing weaned  from  his  own  family.  Where  all  the  at- 
mosphere of  the  family  is  stnmfily  Buddhist,  with 
daily  offerings  to  the  spirits  and  gala  days  at  the  tem- 
ple, the  current  would  be  too  strong  for  a  father,  with 
his  secondary  place  in  the  family,  to  withstand.  For  a 
while  it  was  feared  that  Christian  girls  would  have 
diflQculty  in  finding  husbands.  liut,  on  the  contrary, 
our  educated  girls  become  not  only  more  intelligent, 
but  more  attractive  in  manners,  dress,  and  character; 
and,  therefore,  have  been  much  sought  after.  The 
homes  become  Christian  homes,  and  the  children  are 
reared  in  a  Christian  atmosphere.  The  result  is  that, 
instead  of  the  .vifes  dragging  the  husband  down,  she 
generally  raises  the  husband  up;  and,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  children  early  become  Christians. 

In  August,  187 our  beloved  Princess  became  very 
seriously  ill.  Dr.  \:heck  iiad  l)een  called  upon  to 
treat  domestics  in  the  family,  but  not  the  Prince  or 
Princess.  Hearing  that  she  was  in  a  critical  condi- 
tion under  native  doctors,  and  fearing  the  worst,  I 
took  the  liiiert.v  of  suggesting  that  they  consult  Dr. 
Cheek.  They  seemed  pleased  with  the  suggestion,  and 
a^ed  me  to  accompany  him — ^which  I  did  for  one  or 


mOaNG  KfiN  AND  CHIENG  DAO  179 


two  visits.  His  treatment  was  very  successful,  and 

Boon  sho  was  convalcsront. 

About  this  same  time  we  iiad  an  adventure  with 
white  ants  which  came  ziear  costing  w  our  much- 
valued  cabinet  or}j;an.  It  will  serve  to  illustrate  an 
experience  formerly  common  enough,  and  still  not  un- 
known. One  Wednesday  evening  before  prayer-meet- 
ing Mrs.  McGilvary  sat  down  at  the  instrument  to  look 
over  the  (mii's,  when  she  found  it  full  of  white  ants. 
Our  house  was  built  on  higher  ground,  into  which  the 
creatures  are  driven  when  the  lower  grounds  are  filled 
with  water  from  the  annual  floods.  They  do  not  at- 
tack the  teak  walls  an'^  fhtors  of  our  houses,  but, 
climbing  up  the  posts,  at  last  they  stumbled  upon  the 
soft  wood  and  leather  inside  the  organ,  and  were  jnst 
beginning  their  feast  when  our  meeting  broke  in  upon 
them.  Hr.d  we  not  discovered  them  then,  the  instru- 
ment would  have  been  completely  wrecked  before 
morning. 

Once  the  white  ants  «'estroyed  a  tr"nkful  of  our 
children's  clothes,  once  a  box  of  "  knock  down  "  chairs, 
and  once  they  attacked  my  library — evid«itly  not  at 
all  deterred  by  the  learned  discussions  and  doep 
thought  of  Dr.  -loseph  A.  Alexander's  Commentary  m 
Inaiah.  They  had  got  through  the  margin,  and  would 
soon  have  digested  the  rest,  had  not  an  unexpected 
occasion  for  opening  the  library  saved  it. 


XVI 


SEEKERS  AFTER  GOD 
N  New  Year's  Day,  1877,  I  went  into  the  city  to 


make  some  calls.    The  first  was  at  the  new 


palace.  In  the  large  reception  hall  I  found 
the  Princess,  virtually  alone.  She  was  embroidering 
some  fancy  pillow-ends  for  the  priests— a  work  in 
which  she  was  an  expert.  Her  maidens,  some  distance 
off,  were  sewing  priests'  robes.  The  Prince  was  in  his 
little  workshop  not  far  off,  turning  ivory  rounds  for 
the  railing  of  an  elephant  howdah,  a  favourite  amuse- 
ment with  him. 

The  subject  of  religion  was  one  that  continually  came 
up  in  all  my  interviews  with  the  Princess ;  but  hitherto 
she  had  apparently  argued  more  for  victory  than  from 
a  desire  to  reach  the  truth.  She  was  as  keen  as  a 
lawyer  to  seize  a  point,  and  her  quick  wit  made  her  a 
very  enjoyable  ant''fi;onist.  Not  only  she  and  her 
domestics,  but  the  whole  country  as  well,  had  been 
preparing  for  a  great  occasion  of  merit-making  in  con- 
nection with  the  approaching  dedication  of  a  shrine. 
Whether  the  peculiar  interest  of  this  conversation  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  these  matters  had  been  running 
in  her  mind,  or  to  some  particular  mood  in  which  I 
found  her,  I  never  knew.  Slost  likely  it  was  both.  A 
chance  allusion  to  the  great  event  which  was  in  every 
one's  mouth,  at  once  brought  up  the  question.  Stop- 
ping her  work  and  resting  her  arms  on  the  embroidery 


180 


SEEKERS  AFTER  (JOD 


181 


framp,  fiho  asked,  Why  i'*  it  that  f.>roi<;nera  do  not 
worship  the  Huddha  or  his  images,  and  do  not  believe 
that  merit  is  made  thereby?  " 

She  seemed  to  approach  the  question  as  a  personal 
one  for  herself.  If  we  were  right  and  she  were  wrong, 
she  would  like  to  know  it.  We  agreed  on  that  point, 
and  I  encouraged  her  in  her  estimate  of  its  paramount 
importance  to  every  rational  man  or  woman.  If 
Buddhism  does,  indeed,  lead  to  happiness  in  a  future 
life,  sLe  was  wise  in  diligently  following  its  precepts  ; 
bnt  if  wrong,  it  would  be  a  fatal  mistake.  Why  do  we 
not  worship  Buddha?  Because  he  was  only  a  man. 
We  reverence  his  character,  as  we  do  that  of  other 
upright  men  who  baye  tried  to  do  good  and  to  lead 
their  fellow-men  to  better  tbinj^p.  Gautama  Buddha 
seems  to  have  sought  with  all  his  soul  for  light— was 
willing  to  forsake  a  kingdom  and  to  roionnce  all 
sensual  and  even  intellectual  pleasures  in  this  life  for 
the  hope  of  escaping  sin  and  its  consequences  in  the 
next. 

Why  do  we  worship  Jehovah- Jesus?   Because  He  is 

our  sovereign  Lord.  The  Buddha  groaned  under  his 
own  load  of  guilt,  and  was  oppressed  by  the  sad  and 
universal  consequences  of  sin  among  men.  The  Christ 
challenged  His  enemies  to  convince  Him  of  sin,  and  His 
enemies  to  this  day  have  confessed  that  they  find  no 
sin  in  Him.  Buddhists  oelieve  that  Buddha  reached 
Nirvana  after  having  himself  passed  through  every 
form  of  being  in  the  universe— having  been  in  turn 
every  animal  in  the  seas,  on  the  earth,  and  in  the  air. 
He  did  this  by  an  inexorable  law  that  he  and  every 
other  being  is  subject  to,  and  cannot  evade.  Our  Je- 
hovah-Jesu.s.  as  our  Scriptures  teach,  is  the  only  self- 
existent  being  in  the  universe,  and  Himself  the  cause 


182  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TUK  L\0 

of  all  (»lliiT  boinRS.  An  iiitiiiilc  S|»irit  iitid  invisible,  ll« 
nianitVskMl  Himself  to  (lie  wuild  by  Uesceudiug  Irom 
boaveu,  becoiiilutj  man,  taking  on  our  nature  in  unl- 
MOD  with  His  own  holy  nature,  but  with  n«)  taint  of  sin. 
He  tli<l  tliis  DUt  of  iulinite  love  and  pity  for  onr  race 
after  it  bad  siuueii.  lie  saw  llieie  was  uo  otber  able 
to  save,  and  He  became  our  Saviour. 

And  talce  the  li  adiinss  of  llie  two  Hyslems— wbicb 
is  tlie  more  credible?    The  sii' iiil  books  tif  the  I'rincess 
teacb  tbat  tliere  is  no  (Jreator.    l^verytbing,  as  the 
SiameHc  say,  "  pen  Png " — comes  to  be  of  itself.  All 
this  complieate«'  universe  iM-caiiie  wbat  it  is  by  a  for- 
tnitous  eoneurr  iitr  of  atoms,  wbicb  atoms  themselves 
liad  uo  creator.   We  come  as  honest  seekers  for  troth. 
We  look  around,  above,  beneath.  i:verytbing  seems  to 
imply       (  ontrivanee  of  mind.    The  sun  rises  and  sets 
with  greater  regularity  than  i)ur  clocks  strike  the  hour 
of  noon.  The  seasons  follow  each  other  with  wonderful 
uniformity.    Animals  are  born  and  die.  plants  and 
tri-es  prow  and  deeay,  each  after  iis  kind,  and  in  won- 
derful adjustment  to  the  conditions  about  them.  The 
eye  is  made  for  seeing,  the  ear  for  hearing,  and  the 
air  for  ')reatbin<?.    Lifjht  is  nee  isary  for  work  by  day, 
and  darkness  for  sleep  by  nigbi.    This  city  has  it.s  walls 
and  gates;  this  palace  has  its  beams,  its  roof,  its  doors 
and  windows,  and  its  ditYeitnt  apartments,  because  it 
was  so  planned.    The  Princess  gives  her  orders,  and 
her  servants  in  distant  villages  come  at  her  summons. 
The  Prince's  command  is  obeyed  throughout  all  his 
dominions.    Subjects  oliey  because  they  are  under  con- 
stituted authority.    Even  so  we  obey  Jehovah  and  not 
Huddba,  because  we  believe  that  He  is  the  Creator  and 
the  sovereign  Lord  of  the  universe. 

In  His  word— His  letter  to  our  race— He  claims 


BEEKERB  AFTEB  GOD  183 


to  be  Creator  nn<l  Lord.  We  rend  His  word,  and 
then  we  look  uronnd  for  evidence  as  to  w'letlier  this  !a 
"eally  80.  We  tind  that  evidence  in  eartli  and  xea 
and  Bky.  A  > '  tter  comes  from  the  King  of  Biam.  How 
do  we  know  that  it  i,s  really  his?  It  has  his  seal. 
Not  otherwise  '  the  heavens  declare  the  glorj  ot'  God, 
and  the  firmament  showeth  His  handiwork."  By  faith, 
then,  w^e  believe  that  the  worlds  were  made,  m  Ilis  word 
tells  lis.  We  read  (he  account  of  that  creation.  What 
wonderful  heiugs  we  are  I — made  iu  His  image,  endowed 
in  oar  degrees  with  His  own  attributes,  and  with 
authority  over  the  world  in  which  He  has  placed  us. 
lie  iiaci  given  us  dominion  over  all  the  leasts  of  the 
earth,  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  tish  of  the  sea. 
Every  time  that  a  Buddhist  kills  a  fish  or  a  fowl,  he 
fiins,  because  he  breaks  a  command  of  his  religion. 
Why  not  so  for  a  Christian?  Because  these  creatures 
were  madn  for  man's  use,  and  were  given  to  him.  We 
partake  with  gratitude  of  the  jrifts  our  Father  has  pro- 
vided for  us.  This  one  great  truth,  when  received  by 
Christians,  relieves  the  conscience  of  one  of  the  great- 
est burdens  that  the  followers  of  Bnddha  most  bear. 

But  if  Ood  made  man  in  His  imape,  why  all  this 
suffering  that  we  see  and  feel?  The  best  explanation 
ever  given  is  that  given  in  the  Bible.  Man  was  created 
holy,  and  was  put  fin  triiil.  lie  transgressed.  A  sub- 
ject who  disobeys  the  law  of  his  sovereign  ;neurs  his 
displeasure.  He  sutlers  for  it.  We  are  suffering  from 
this  disobedience  of  onr  first  parents  by  a  law  that  we 
dai'y  see  exemplified.  A  tnan  by  ext'-avagance  or  vice 
squanders  his  estate.  His  children  are  born  penniless. 
The  Prince  of  Wicng  Chan  rebelled  against  the  King 
of  Siam.  His  country  was  conqnered  and  laid  waste, 
and  thousands  of  its  inhabitaats  were  ma^  captivQ 


ISI  AM»»N(J  THE  HIAMEBE  AND  THE  LAO 


and  (Icpoilt'd.  ThouHimdH  of  the  di'McenduntH  of  theie 
captifei  are  now  iwrfii.   Why  are  they  »o?  RecatiM 

of  the  em)rH  or  iDiHfortiiiU's  nf  their  nnccstnrs.  Tlio 
Prim-e  appointM  a  governor  over  a  province,  with  tlie 
promiHC  that  If  he  is  faithful,  bin  children  shall  snc- 
ceed  him.  Becaase  of  misiioniciinor  he  is  deposed. 
TTiR  deKceinliintH  are  liorn  itubjecta  and  not  rulers.  We 
belong  to  a  fulien  race. 

Boniana  nautaraa  belonged  to  the  same  race.  He 
groaned  under  its  pains  and  penult ies.  He  saw  a  race 
8un1<  in  niiserv.  He  saw  Its  religion  shamefully  cor- 
rupt. He  inaiigiirated  one  of  purer  morality.  But  he 
does  not  profess  to  be  divine  or  a  Haviour.  His  religion 
does  not  olTer  a  siiffieient  remedy.  Hy  asretii-ism  and 
Belf  mortification  it  would  cxtinguiBh  all  noble  dewire  as 
well  as  the  vicious  instincts  with  which  we  are  bom. 
And  then,  after  interminable  eyries  of  transmigrations, 
we  may  hope  to  reach  a  state  of  unconscious  sleep. 
Happiness  and  misery  are  inseparable  things.  We 
escape  the  one  only  by  escaping  the  other.  That  is  the 
dark  jncspoot  which  makes  P.nddhism  so  pessimistic. 
To  this  the  l'rin<  es8  assented,  *'  That  is  so." 

ow  compare  this  with  the  religion  of  Jesus.  The 
reign  Father  who  loves  His  wanderinR,  sinful  chil- 
dr  .1,  in  His  infinite  wisdom  devised  a  plan  that  satis- 
lies  their  needs  and  desires,  "  (lod  so  loved  the  world 
that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
iKjIievcth  in  Him  ;  li«  'uld  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life."  (^ur  Maker  l)ecame  our  Redeemer  by  emptying 
Himself  of  His  glory  and  beconiiug  man.  He  is  Himself 
the  greatest  possible  illustration  of  the  love  of  God  to 
the  race.  lie  came  t"  reveal  the  Father.  His  holy  life 
we  have  in  His  word.  He  set  us  the  only  perfect  ex- 
ample, full  of  pity  toward  the  miserable  and  the  sinful. 


SEEKEB8  AFTEB  QOD  18S 


Then,  bj  a  painfal  an»l  Rbameful  donth,  He  liw  aine 
IlimHPlf  n  sncriflcc  for  the  Nins  of  tlif»  world.  He 
obeyed  the  law  wliith  we  had  brukeu,  and  which  con- 
demiw  as;  and  inffered  in  oar  stead  the  penalty  doe 
to  UH.  ITc  coiKHU'rcd  death.  FTe  took  awiiy  the  HiUm  <»' 
death  by  taking  away  Hiu.  lie  aroHe  fruiu  the  dead, 
sbowing  Himself  for  many  days.  He  aHi-ended  to 
heaven  before  tlu*  )  v<>s  of  HiH  disriples.  Ha  has  sent 
His  servants  and  His  word  to  offer  a  fuU  and  frw 
pardon  to  all  wiio  will  accept,  lie  ih  now,  and  ever 
will  be,  oar  intercessor  in  heaven.  He  sends  His  Bpirit 
to  purify  and  fit  n.s  for  an  endless  state  of  conscions 
existence  which  begins  at  death,  and  not  cycles  after. 
Millions  of  the  best  men  and  women  the  world  has 
ever  seen  have  given  their  testimony  to  the  reality  of 
thiH  salvation  by  a  (riiinipliant  death,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  all  sin  and  all  i«utreriug  were  paut.  JesuH 
removed  the  corse,  and  brought  to  light  the  immortality 
which  we  had  forfeited  by  sin.  The  missionary  and  his 
associates  have  left  both  parents  and  children  that 
they  might  offer  this  to  the  Princess  and  to  her 
people. 

To  all  of  this  the  Princess  was  mainly  a  most  in- 
terested listener.  She  had  asked  to  Ikj  taught.  She 
pat  no  captions  questions.  I  have  omitted  an  occa- 
sional assent  tlinf  she  fxave,  and  an  .tccaHional  difficulty 
or  donht — not  all  of  which  could  be  fully  answered;  as, 
for  example,  why  an  all-powerful  God  allowed  the  en- 
trance of  sin,  and  now  allows  wicked  spirits  to  tempt 
lis;  or  that  itlier  '-ad  (piestion,  why  the  Gospel  had  not 
Iteen  sent  to  them,  so  that  they  might  have  known  this 
from  childhood — a  question  the  burden  of  which  should 
press  on  my  readers  as  well  as  on  the  missionary. 

At  last,  after  a  long  pause,  the  Princess  made  a  won- 


186  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

derful  confession,  the  very  words  of  which  I  can  never 

forget : 

"  Ta  cbak  wa  dui  kwara  cliing,  ka  hau  wa  paw  kru 
ko  tuk  16o."  To  speak  the  truth,  I  see  that  the  father- 
teacher  is  right.  "  Ka  chua  wa  kong  chak  mi  Tra  Cliao 
Ion  dai  sang  lok."  I  behove  there  surely  must  be  some 
divine  Lord  who  made  the  world.  "  bat  ni  ko  chfla 
ti  paw  kru  atibai  diii  kSn  pon  tot  doi  Pra  Yesu."  And 
nov,-  I  iK'lieve  what  tlie  father  teacher  lias  explained 
about  escape  from  punishment  through  the  Lord  Jesus. 
And  then,  sadly— almost  despairingly— she  added,  "  T6 
chak  yia  cha  dai?"  But  what  shall  I  do?— I  fear  it 
will  not  l)e  well  to  forsake  "  bit  paw  hoi  me"— the  cus- 
toms of  my  father,  the  foot-prints  of  my  mother. 

We  were  sitting  in  the  new  brick  palace— the  first 
ever  built  in  the  country.  In  the  hall  was  a  large 
pier-glass  with  numerous  other  foreign  articles,  most 
of  them  bought  in  Bangkok,  and  brought  up  for  oflfer- 
ings  at  the  coming  dedication  of  the  shrine.  I  asked, 
Princess,  did  your  father  or  grandfather  have  a  brick 
palace  like  this?"  Somewhat  surprised  at  the  ques- 
tion, she  replied,  "No."  "And  I  see  the  Princess 
riding  down  to  the  landing  every  day  in  a  foreign  car 
ritige.  Did  your  ancestors  do  that  ?  "  Before  I  could 
make  the  application,  she  blu.shed,  perceiving  that  she 
was  caught.  I  went  on:  "You  do  daily  forsake  old 
customs,  and  adojit  new  ones  which  your  ancestors 
never  kr ;  w.  Tlie  whole  method  of  government  is 
changing.  This  foreign  cloth,  which  your  maidens  are 
sewing  for  priests'  robes,  was  all  unknown  to  your 
f(jrefi\thers.  Tlu  se  things  all  come  from  lands  where 
the  people  worship  neither  the  Buddha  uor  the  spirits. 
These  are  only  some  of  the  fruits  that  grow  on  the  tree. 
Better  still,  plant  the  tree;  for  all  good  fruit  grows  on 


SEEKERS  AFTER  GOD  187 


it."  Just  then  our  long  conversation  was  interrupted 
by  (he  entrance  of  the  Prince,  wlio  had  worked  till 
he  was  tired.  He  asked  what  «Ul-  and  the  teacher  were 
talking  about  so  long.  She  replied  that  we  were  dis- 
cussing "  bun  Ic  h~\\)  " — merit  and  sin. 

The  <iuestiou  ollcu  caiue  up  after  this.  She  was  in  a 
position  where  it  was,  humanly  speaking,  almost  im- 
possible for  her  outwardly  to  forsake  the  customs  of 
the  country.  I'nt  I  Iiave  reason  to  know  tlint  on  that 
morning  she  received  truths  which  she  never  forgot. 
We  have  seen  before  that  neither  she  nor  her  husband 
approved  of  her  father's  act  in  murdering  the  Chris- 
tians. Slie  continued  a  warm  friend  to  the  last,  and 
so  did  the  I'rince. 

On  my  way  home  that  same  forenoon  I  had  another 
interesting  talk  with  our  dear  old  friend,  the  abbot  of 
the  Umong  monastery,  who  had  been  so  true  to  us  dur- 
ing onr  troubles.  On  the  gate-posts,  as  I  entered,  were 
offerings  of  fruit,  rice,  betel,  etc.,  to  i)ropitiate  the 
spirits.  This  is  in  Hat  violation  of  cue  of  the  funda- 
mental precepts  of  Buddhism,  which  declares  that  any 
one  who  makes  offerings  to  spirits  is  outside  of  the  pale, 
or,  as  we  should  say,  is  virtually  e.xcomniunicato.  Of 
course,  my  abbot  friend  exculpated  himself  from  all 
complicity  in  the  offerings.  He  himself  neither  wor- 
shipped nor  feared  the  spirits.  But  his  disciples  and 
parisliioncrs  did,  and  hn  could  not  withstand  them. 
He,  too,  never  gave  up  the  form  of  Buddhism,  but  he 
claimed  that  he  worshipped  Jesus  daily  as  the  great 
Creator  and  licuefactor  of  our  race.  His  merit  lie  be- 
lieved to  intinitcly  p:rea(er  than  tliat  of  Buddha, 
whom  he  knew  to  be  a  man.  The  abbot  was  a  man 
of  broad  mind,  and  a  tiue  and  faithful  friend.  It  is 
well  that  it  is  not  for  as  to  say  how  much  of  error 


188  AMONG  Tin:  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


is  consistt'iit  witli  true  disciideship,  evou  in  Christian 
lands.  I  know  that  his  deep-rooted  friendship  for  ua 
was  because  we  were  teachers  of  a  religion  that  otlered 
hopes  which  Buddhism  does  not  ^ivc.  I  liave  in  mind 
many  others,  also,  who  believed  uur  doctrine,  tliougii 
they  were  never  enrolled  in  our  church ;  and  not  a  few 
that  would  urge  others  of  theii-  family  and  friends  to 
lalvo,  as  rhiisliaus,  the  open  stand  wliidi,  from  various 
causes,  \hty  themselves  were  pre'euted  from  tailing. 
But  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His. 

The  great  event  uf  tlie  year  1S77  was  the  dedication 
of  a  Hu  lliist  sliriue  recently  u  built  on  Doi  Sutcp,  the 
noble  mountain  which  is  the  pride  and  glory  of 
Cbiengmai.  From  the  level  of  the  plain,  and  at  a 
distance  of  but  four  miles  westward  from  the  city,  the 
mountain  rises  in  a  single  sweep  four  thousand  five  hun- 
dred feet,  forest-crowned  to  its  very  summit,  seamed 
with  rushing  hrook^-.  and  embroidered  with  gleaming 
waterfalls.  In  tlie  r.  i ny  season  the  play  of  cloud  and 
vapor,  of  sunshine  ami  storm  about  its  mighty  mass, 
forms  an  ever-changing  picture  of  surpassing  beauty 
and  grandeur.  The  Siamese  and  the  Lao  are  very  fond 
of  an  imposinj;  setting  and  a  commanding  view  for 
their  temples  and  shrines — on  bold  promontories  by 
sea  or  river,  on  high  knolls  and  summits.  Tlie  one  on 
Doi  Sutcp  crowns  a  project  ii.'j,'  Nlioulder  or  bastiim  of 
the  mountain,  some  half  way  up,  ;ind  visible  from  all 
parts  of  the  Chiengmai  plain.  Each  reigning  Prince 
has  been  desirous  of  doing  something  to  beautify  and 
enrich  this  shriiu'.  To  rebuild  it  was.  M.erefore,  an 
attractive  idea  to  Prince  Intauou  at  t  u-  bc^rinning  of 
his  rule. 

To  do  lumour  to  (be  (Kcasiou,  ant!  lo  make  merit 
thereby,  all  the  northern  states,  as  far  east  as  Luang 


SEEKERS  AFTER  GOD  189 

Prabang,  sent  their  highest  ofiScials  with  costly  offer- 

iiij?s;  aud  tlio  government  of  Siain  sent  a  special  rep- 
resentative. For  weeks  and  months  previously  the 
whole  conntry  had  been  placed  under  requisition  to 
make  pioparations.  Offerings  were  levied  from  every 
town,  villaj^e,  and  monasters,  and,  I  believe,  from  every 
household,  liatli  guest  of  honour  had  a  temporary 
house  built  for  him  at  tu?  foot  of  the  mountain,  with 
smaller  slielkrs  for  persons  of  less  rank.  Nearly  all 
the  princes  and  nobles  of  Chiengmai  joined  tlie  en- 
campment at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  thither, 
also,  was  the  city  market  removed,  so  that  our  house- 
keepers had  to  send  four  miles  to  market ! 

I  had  intended  to  pitch  a  tent  near  the  encamp- 
ment, so  as  to  be  near  the  people  for  missionary  woii;. 
But  a  rheumatic  attack  during  the  opening  days  of  the 
festival  prevented.  Still,  we  had  as  many  visitors  at 
home  as  we  could  attend  to,  and  under  conditions  more 
favourable  for  missionary  work. 

Such  occasions  aie  very  attractive  to  the  Lao  peo- 
ple. For  the  time  being  the  prohibition  against 
gambling  is  removed,  and  they  make  the  most  of  it. 
It  may  seem  a  queer  way  of  making  merit,  but  the 
theory  is  that  their  merit  earns  them  the  risrht  to  a 
good  time  for  once.  Thousands  of  rupees  change 
hands  on  such  occasions.  The  mornings  are  given  to 
making  offerings,  the  afternoons  to  boxing  and  games, 
and  the  nights  to  theatricals  and  gambling.  I  was 
glad  that  I  was  prevented  from  pitching  my  tent  in 
the  midst  of  the  noise  and  revelry.  All  those  inter- 
ested in  religion  wcro  the  more  free  to  call  and  con- 
verse with  us  apart  from  the  princes  and  the  rabble. 
OlBcers  and  monks  from  a  distance  were  always  espe- 
cially welcomed,  and  few  of  them  in  those  days  re- 


m  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


tarned  to  their  homes  witboat  calling  on  the  foreign 

teacher. 

I  did  not  get  off  on  a  long  tour  that  season,  being 
unable  to  secure  an  elephant.  It  was  better  so,  how- 
ever, for  early  in  May  Dr.  Choek  wont  to  IJangkok  to 
consult  a  plijsician,  and  went  on  thence  as  far  as 
Hongkong.  It  was  April  30th  of  the  next  year  before 
he  got  back  to  (Jhionfjinai.  And  the  season  jiroved  )o 
he  one  of  tlie  most  unhealtiiy  in  the  history  of  the 
mission.  Worst  of  all,  we  had  only  six  bottles  of 
quinine  to  begin  the  season  with.  There  was  a  rush 
for  the  quinine,  and  it  scciiumI  cruel  to  withhold  it  so 
long  as  any  was  left.  The  fever  was  of  a  violent 
type,  and  often  fatal.  Native  doctors  were  helpless  be- 
fore the  scourge.  On  looking  about  me  for  a  sub- 
stitute for  quinine,  1  found  that  arsenic  was  the  next 
best  remedy,  and  that  Fowler's  Solution  was  the  best 
form  for  administering  it.  But  we  had  not  a  drop  of 
the  solution.  We  had.  however,  a  bottle  of  arsenious 
acid,  and  a  United  States  Dispensatory,  so  that  I  had 
to  become  pharmacist  as  well  as  doctor.  I  had  all  the 
ingredients  save  one,  an  unessential  colouring  matter. 
So  1  made  it  up  by  the  quart.  l?ut  it  was  not  a  medi- 
cine to  be  trusted  in  native  bands.  They  were  accus- 
tomed to  take  their  own  medicine  by  the  potful,  and 
had  the  theory  that  if  a  little  is  good,  a  great  deal 
would  be  better. 


XVII 


THE  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONER 

IN  this  same  year,  1877,  tliere  occurred  an  event  of 
utmost  importance  to  the  mission  and  to  the 
whole  conntry.   We  have  Been  that,  up  to  the 
death  of  Prince  Kawilnrot.  Ihnse  Lfio  provinces  which 
are  now  a  part  of  Siam  had  been  virtually  free  states. 
The  Siamese  yoke  had  been  very  easy.   They  had  never 
been  conquered  in  war.   Their  original  association 
with  Siam  had  been  a  vohmtary  one,  in  order  to 
escape  the  oppressive  rule  of  Burma.   Their  location 
and  their  weakness  made  it  a  necessity  that  they  should 
look  to  one  of  these  rival  kingdoms  for  protection 
:i<jainst  the  other.    At  the  same  time,  they  added  both 
dignity  and  strength  to  the  one  on  which  they  leaned 
—they  served  it  as  a  buffer  against  the  other.  Nature 
had  connected  the  Lao  country  more  intimately  with 
Siam.   All  its  communication  with  the  sea  was 
through  the  Mtoam  Chao  Praya  and  its  tributaries, 
while  a  range  of  lofty  mountains  separated  it  from 
I'.urma.    In  race  and  language  too,  they  were  Siamese, 
and  not  Burmese. 

The  relation  had  been  mutually  beneficial.  Both 
parties  recognized  the  advantages  of  the  arrangement, 
and  were  satistied.  The  balance  of  real  advantage  had 
been  to  the  weaker  states.  Their  chiefs,  indeed,  were 
required  to  make  triennial  visits  to  the  Siamese  cap- 
ital, to  present  there  a  nominal  tribute,  and  to  renew 
their  oath  of  allegiance.    But  with  this  exception  they 

191 


192  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


were  virtually  free.  In  his  own  coontry  the  Prince 
had  absolute  nilo.  The  Siamose  had  never  iuteileifl 
with,  or  nssuiiicd  control  of,  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
North  Lao  s^tates.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
sanction  of  the  Siamese  government  to  the  establish- 
inent  of  t!ie  inissiim  was  given  only  after  the  Lilo 
Prince  had  j^iven  his. 

It  was  i>ro!>al)!y  an  inevitable  result  that  the  stronger 
power  slionld  in  tiiiK'  -ibsorb  llie  weaker.    And  the 
course  of  events  iiad  iK'en  teiidinf?  that  wa.v.    The  for- 
ests of  teak  on  the  uiiper  bram  hes  of  the  Menani  were 
too  valuable  to  be  concealed  or  to  remain  profitless. 
The  world  needed  tlie  timber,  and  was  willinji  to  pay 
for  it.    The  country  needed  its  value  in  money.  The 
Burmese  of  Maulmein,  who  were  British  subjects,  had 
Bkill  in  working  out  the  timber,  which  the  Lao  had 
not.   With  money  and  valuable  presents  they  tempted 
the  Lfio  rulers,  who  formerly  had  absolute  authority 
over  the  forests,  to  grant  them  concessions  to  cut  the 
timber  and  market  it  in  Bangkok.    Both  parties  were 
avaricious,  and  both  were  probably  crooked.  Larger 
bribes  sonietiines  induced  a  Lao  'uler  to  issue  a  sec- 
ond concession  to  work  a  forest  already  assigned  to 
an  earlier  applicant.    The  result  was  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  lawsuits  brought  by  British  subjects  against 
the  Lao.   Since  the  L5o  states  were  dependencies  of 
Slam,  the  Siamese  governuK'nt  was  often  called  upon 
to  enforce  judgment  against  them:  wiiile  tlie  Lfio  felt 
that  the  Siamese  suzerainty  ought  to  shield  them  from 
such  attack.    Slam  was  now  come  to  be  in  fact  the 
buffer  between  the  Lfio  and  the  outside  world.  In- 
stead of  the  pleasant  relations  which  had  hitherto  ex- 
isted between  the  two  peoples,  there  was  now  constant 
friction. 


THE  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONER 


193 


Up  to  the  tiuie  when  Prince  KawilSrot  gave  bis  pub- 
lic and  official  promise  before  the  United  States  Consul 

nnd  the  rei)iesenfative  of  the  Siamese  government,  in 
the  little  sfila  at  the  landingstage  of  Wat  Chfing  in 
Bangkok,  no  foreign  power  other  than  the  English  had 
had  any  claim  on  the  Lao  or  any  contact  with  them. 
It  was  only  the  impolitic  ad  of  killing  the  Christians 
which  brought  the  Lao  Prince  into  conllict  with  the 
representative  of  the  United  States  government.  The 
fact  that  it  was  the  missionaries  who  were  immediately 
concerned  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  question.  Had 
the  agreement  been  made  with  American  citizens  in 
any  other  capacity  or  business,  the  obligation  would 
have  luvn  t!ie  same.    The  Siamese  government  recog- 
nized the  obligation,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  guaranteed 
the  continuance  of  the  mission.   And  that  gaarantee 
was  an  additional  reason  for  having  an  official  repre- 
itivo  of  Siam  resident  in  Chiengmai. 
J  the  new  Prince  been  as  strong  as  he  was  mild 
biiv.  good,  and  had  the  Thao  Uiiarat  been  like  him,  it 
is  possible  that  the  old  feudal  relation  might  have  con- 
tinued another  generation  or  two.   No  doubt  the 
Siamese  government  thoroughly  trusted  the  loyalty 
of  the  now  P'ince;  but  it  did  not  regard  him  as  a  man 
sufficiently  stmng  to  hold  the  reins  of  power  at  that 
juncture.    Moreover,  all  the  business  of  ruling  was 
largely  given  over  to  the  UparSt ;  and  he  in  a  number 
of  ways  had  slinwn  his  opposition  to  our  work  and  his 
jealousy  of  the  English  and  of  foreigners  generally. 
When  news  reached  us  first  that  a  High  Commissioner 
was  appointed,  and  then  that  he  was  on  the  way,  there 
was  great  anxiety  to  know  what  stand  he  would  take 
with  reference  to  Christianity. 
PrayS  Tep  Worachun  proved  to  be  an  admirable 


194  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

selection  for  ('omniissidiu  r.    He  \v,u\  innn.v  <>f  tlio  qnal 
ides  of  a  sfiitoKiiiiin.    He  was  cool,  culm,  patient,  and 
wise.   .1  mining  from  the  result,  it  in  evident  that  his 
inntnictionH  were:  to  be  consorvative;  to  make  no  raKh 
or  prciiiatiirc  move;  and  to  iiplmld  tiio  ro.vai  atiUiority 
coujo;uti.v  witit  (lie  old  princely  rule— pca(i'alil.v.  if 
possible,  bat  flrndy— till  Hiam  could  asHUine  complete 
control.    .Mi-anwiiilf  lie  waK  to  follow  the  i:n}ilish  plan 
of  pov(>rniiiu:  i1ii«mi;;Ii  the  native  rulers,    lie  was  will- 
ing to  hide  his  time.    ICvery  new  assumptitm  of  power 
on  the  part  of  Biam  was  reluctantly  yielded  hy  the  Lslo. 
But  everytlunp  conspired  to  favour  the  pulii  s  of  Siam. 
Tlie  Lao  Prime  was  passive  and  unamhilious.  For 
the  Uparat  no  one  felt  the  reverence  or  the  fear  that 
all  had  felt  for  the  late  Prince  Kawilorot.   The  Com- 
missioner's fiiinicss  and  business  intejirity  enabled 
him  to  maintain  himself  perfectly  in  his  dillit  ult  posi- 
tion between  the  two  branches  of  the  Tal  race,  and 
amid  the  contliclinfj  interests  of  the  time. 

In  relifiion  the  new  Commissioner  was  a  stoic.  His 
boast  was  that  he  needed  no  other  religion  than  to 
be  loyal  to  his  king,  and  upright  and  just  in  his  deal- 
ings with  men.  Virtue  was  its  own  reward,  nnd  vice 
was  its  own  punishment.  lie  acceitted  Cibbou  s  con- 
clusion tLat  all  religions  are  alike  good  for  the  state, 
alike  true  for  their  adherents.  :nul  alike  false  for  the 
philosopher.  He  encoura-ed  Christianity  because  it 
taught  a  good  morality  and  made  good  citizens.  But 
he  could  see  neither  the  possibility  nor  the  necessity  of 
an  atonement  for  sin.  On  one  point  I  shimld  say  we 
were  in  full  accord.  In  his  opposition  to  the  spirit- 
worship  of  the  Lao  he  was  almost  rabid.  He  sym- 
athized  deeply  with  the  poor  people  accused  of  witch- 
craft, who  were  driven  out  of  the  country. 


Tin:  REHFDKN'T  COM M ISSinNi;u  105 


Durinj?  the  abseucc  of  Dr.  ("heck  aud  .Mr.  Wilson 
with  their  familirfi,  1  should  have  been  utterly  unable 
to  cope  with  the  situation,  had  it  not  been  for  my  wife's 
clear  busineM  talent  and  tiut  in  planning.  The  lit- 
tle girls,  too,  had  begun  to  .sliow  sonu'what  of  their 
mother's  aptitude  for  work. 

Meanwhile  the  fever  Hniui},'o  otntinuiMl  !(•  si.irii<l  and 
Jnci-eas.'  ill  violcnci'.  TIii'  progress  of  the  disease  was 
so  rapid  tiiat  often  the  person  attacked  would  never 
rally  at  all.  An  interesting  example  of  the  way  in 
wliidi  •■"iilinfi  of  llic  Imd.v  soiuotinu's  ojioniMl  tlip  way 
to  the  healing  of  the  soul,  is  st-en  in  the  case  of  Sen 
Kam,  an  oflBcer  who  was  in  charge  of  all  the  irrigation 
works  on  the  Doi  Kaket  plain,  and  wh<t  one  day  was 
hnmsiht  to  n)y  fjatc,  as  it  was  supposed,  to  die.  The 
new  medicine  quickly  checked  his  fever,  and  presently 
he  began  to  study  in  Siamese  the  Shorter  Catechism, 
Genesis,  and  the  r.osiiel  of  .loKn.  In  due  time  he 
returned  home  a  believer.  I  ut  Ms  desertion  from 
Buddhism  caused  such  opposition  i.  his  province  that 
his  baptism  was  delayed.  His  family  were  so  shaken 
that  some  of  them  wished  to  return  to  the  old  worship. 
But  one  young  grand  daughter  of  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  had  begun  to  read  our  books  and  to  attmd  our 
services.  She  refused  to  return  to  the  nxmastery,  and 
would  run  away  from  it  to  the  chai>el.  She  per- 
severed until  she  brought  back  the  whole  family  into 
the  Christian  fold. 

fn  further  illustration  of  the  crowded  experiences 
of  this  time,  1  may  cite  the  following  items  from  let- 
ters to  our  children,  writtoi  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  year  1877. 

"  Last  week  the  King  sont  f(ir  your  father  to  treat  a 
prince  who  bad  iuid  the  fever  for  Hfteen  days.   During  his 


196  AMONG  THE  BIAME8E  AND  THE  LAO 


paroxysms  his  i n.  s  cotihl  be  heard  throughout  the  whole 
n(  i^'lihoiirlio(..l.  Ill  tliiir  extremity  they  •ent  for  your 
fatlicr,  ami  pave  up  tl-.o  case  to  him  with  penniuion  to 
rciiiovt'  all  spirit-charnis  .luring  the  trmtment.  He  it  now 
out  of  dangfr."    [Mhs.  McU.J 

"  For  three  weeks  I  have  had  n  yminp  prince  in  hospital 
who  hail  attempteil  siiieide  hy  cutting  his  throat.  lie  was  a 
fearful  sight.  It  did  not  f^ivm  possible  that  he  could  survive 
the  night.  I  sewed  up  the  wound,  howeTcr,  and  now  he  i« 
well,  and  apparently  penitent."    |D.  McO.] 

"  We  are  well  as  usual,  hut  eiiprossed  in  work.  Your 
father  is  pressed  beyond  measure  with  the  work  of  two  men. 
On  the  return  of  Dr.  CMieek".-.  boats,  we  reoeited  forty 
ounces  <  f  (piiiiinc;  but  it  is  poiup  at  a  fearful  rate.  The 
hospital  is  full  of  patients,  iuid  there  are  at  least  ouo 
hundred  more  to  be  prescribed  for  tlaily.  If  I  did  not  drop 
ererything  else  and  help  him,  he  could  not  possibly  get 
through  the  day's  work."   [Mas.  McQ.] 

"  Soon  the  quinine  was  all  gone,  and  our  compound  was 
becoming  a  veritable  lazaretto.  Most  of  the  patients  wore 
anemic  and  dropsical  from  long-standing  fever.  They 

came,  because  to  remain  at  homo  was  to  die.  Then  a  new 
complication  arose.  Unusual  syniptotns  began  to  occur  that 
I  could  not  account  for.  One  morning  at  breakfast  we 
were  called  to  sec  a  little  girl  who  had  a  hemorrhage.  She 
had  no  cough  and  had  no  consumption.  While  I  was  look- 
ing up  the  symptoms  ami  cause,  your  mother  discovered 
that  the  bleed •  was  from  the  gums.  That  gave  us  the 
clue.  It  was  ccurvy.  I  found  that  we  had  at  least  thirty 
others  whose  g.  ins  were  similarly  diseased.  We  began  at 
once  to  give  them  lime-juice,  and  prescribed  vegetnbles,  for 
the  lack  of  which  they  were  starving.  It  is  the  iiiyariahle 
custom  of  Lao  doctors  in  cases  of  fever  to  put  the  patient  on 
a  strict  diet  of  boiled  rice  and  dried  fish.  On  such  diet 
some  of  our  patients  had  been  living  for  two  or  three  months. 
They  might  as  well  have  beeu  ou  an.  arctic  voyage ! " 

[D.  McQ.] 


Tin:  i{i:sii)i:nt  <;()MM.'<sionkr  1!>7 


"  Day  bc'fori'  yo.-tonlay  \vc  trioil  to  havi^  a  |)icni(?.  A 
prtnccflg  had  promised  us  two  elephnnts,  but  only  "Hf  came. 
Your  father  took  a  horse.  The  throe  children  and  1  rode 
the  elephant.  Our  destination  wai  the  Doi  8ut8p  temple. 
About  half  the  way  up  the  numntaiii  tlie  elephant  either  eon- 
c-luded  that  there  was  no  fun  in  guinj,'  up  ulone,  or,  more 
probably,  that  he  had  an  unrouifortalile  load,  and  refused 
to  go  any  further.  He  turned  out  of  the  road,  and  tried 
to  throw  till'  drirer  fnnii  lii-»  noek.  The  ehildren  became 
alarmed,  and  we  dismnnnteil  a-*  best  we  eoidd.  The  oliil- 
dren  refused  to  try  riding  him  nguin;  aud  since  we  had 
come  largely  for  their  pleasure,  we  had  our  lunch  by  • 
brook,  and  (etamfld  home  on  foot"   [Mbs.  MoO.] 

"We  had  an  interesting  incident  at  our  De<»mber  cwn- 

munion.  Just  as  I  liad  aiinnuneed  tlie  eotnnninion  hymn, 
I  saw  Chao  Borirak— the  Nan  pritieo,  who  had  twice  ac- 
companied me  with  his  e!ei)hant  on  my  journeys,  and  for 
whoso  sake  largely  one  of  my  trips  to  Nan  had  been  taken — 
enter  the  room.  As  he  had  been  the  subject  of  much 
special  |)rayer  on  our  part,  I  could  hardly  command  my 
voice  suihciently  to  proceed  with  the  hymn.  On  my  return 
from  my  furlough  he  had  written  that  he  would  visit  me  at 
the  first  opportunity.  His  uncle,  the  Prince  of  Nan,  had 
n  prandson  in  danprer  of  losinp  his  sight  from  an  aceident. 
He  huil  iHTsiiiuk'd  tiie  l\[<ux-  I'uiL  i>-)^.--itily  our  me<licine 
might  help  him.  lie  brought  a  few  presents  from  the 
Prince,  and  for  himnelf  had  brought  a  fdd  ring  with  a 
native  pearl  from  the  Nun  river.  He  is  veiy  anxious  thp.t  I 
should  move  to  Nan.  but  I  tell  him  that  he  must  wait  for 
you.  .  .  .  Witli  fever  and  death  around  us  we  have  been 
wonderfully  preserred  from  '  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in 
darkness,  and  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday.' 
We  have  had  our  anxieties  about  the  children.  During  the 
last  hot  season  we  were  afraid  that  little  Margaret  would 
inelt  away,  she  was  so  thin."  [D.  HoQ.] 

Itut  the  labours  of  the  year  were  not  in  vain.  Dur- 
ing its  progress  NUn  Suwan,  who  afterwards  became 


198  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

the  founder  of  the  church  iu  Cbieug  Son,  and  four 
others  who  became  iutlueutial  ruliug  elders,  were  bap- 
tized. And  with  these  was  Pa  Kawug,  an  aged  slave 
of  the  Prince,  who  lived  to  be  one  of  the  LSo  saints. 


xvni 


TvirciicifArT 


N  January  Gth,  1878,  two  native  converts  were 


received  into  the  church— Nan  RT  Wichai,  the 


V_--^  (Ijjp  scholar  who  had  been  Tr.  Chrek's  teacher, 
and  the  wife  of  a  Iciuling  elder— and  with  them  our 
own  daughter  Cornelia.  This  was  the  bright  begin- 
ning of  the  year  that  brought  in  religious  toleration. 

One  day  in  March,  as  1  was  sittinp;  in  my  study,  I 
was  surprised  to  see  a  tall  man,  a  stranger,  with  the 
bearing  of  an  officer,  enter.  He  pointed  with  both 
fingers  to  his  ears,  and  asked  if  the  teacher  could  say 
"Ephphatha,"  and  open  the  cars  of  a  deaf  man  as 
Jesus  did.  It  was  a  strange  introduction— to  be  ac- 
costed by  a  Lao  with  a  quotation  from  Scripture  in 
the  ancient  Arama>an  tongue!  I  judged  by  his  accent 
that  he  was  from  Lakawn.  In  answer  to  my  eiiquiry 
as  to  who  he  was,  I  learned  that  he  was  a  PrayS.  the 
highest  rank  among  LSo  oflBcials ;  that  he  had  formerly 
been  first  in  the  Lakawn  court,  but  was  not  then  in 
office.  But  where  had  he  received  a  Bible,  and  wb'^ 
had  taught  him? 

I  learned  that  some  twenty  years  before  this  he  had 
accompanied  his  Prince  to  Bangkok,  and  there  had  met 
Dr.  Bradley,  from  whom  he  received  a  copy  of  the  Old 
Testament  History  in  Siamese,  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment so  far  as  it  was  then  published.  He  had  learned 
Siamese  in  order  to  be  able  to  read  and  understand  the 

199 


200  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


contents  of  these  books.  He  often  wished  that  he  had 
lived  in  tiie  time  of  Christ.  I!ut,  liaviufj  no  one  to 
guide  him,  he  bad  not  learned  to  draw  the  lessons  that 
the  Bible  story  was  designed  to  teach. 

He  had  come  to  ("liieugiiiai  to  get  the  assistance  of 
the  jii'inces  there  in  ri^iitiug  an  tinjiisl  decision  of 
the  Laiiawu  court  against  hini.  lie  had  heard,  too, 
that  there  were  teachers  of  a  new  religion;  and  he 
wished  to  know  whetiier  we  lauglil  as  did  Dr.  Hradley 
and  tiie  books  i-t'ceiveti  from  him.  His  jiosilion,  bis 
manners,  bis  whole  histor.v,  including  his  connection 
with  my  father-in-law,  attracted  me  to  him  with  un- 
common force.  Our  first  interview  was  long  and  very 
satisfactory.  Uis  questions  were  such  as  he  had  long 
wished  to  put  to  some  one  who  could  explain  them. 
The  truth  had  been  securely  lodged  in  his  mind.  It 
was  most  interesting  to  see  how  a  single  new  thought 
would  illuminate  it  ail. 

But  what  he  bad  sown  be  w  >.s  then  reaping.  While 
in  power  he  doubtless  had  oppres.sed  others.  Once  he 
had  received  "hush  money"  from  murderers  whom  be 
should  have  prosecuted.  If  he  bad  not  taken  it,  he 
said  they  would  have  murdered  him,  too.  His  sins 
wciglied  upon  bis  conscience.  His  most  anxious  ques- 
tion was  whether  Jesus  could  really  save  all  men  from 
all  sins.  When  asked  if  Buddha  could  do  so,  he 
said  that  be  never  had  seen  any  such  promise  in  any 
of  the  scripture'-..  Fie  would  search  again.  He  went 
to  an  abbot  friend  from  whom  he  borrowed,  as  he  said, 
"  books  by  the  armful."  He  looked  them  over  with 
this  one  (juestion  in  view:  Is  there  hope  of  pardon  of- 
fered to  sinners?  lie  went  a  second  time  for  more. 
At  his  third  coming  the  abbot,  finding  out  what  he  was 
aftf"-,  refused  to  lend  to  him  further.   But  he  con- 


wrrciicHAFT 


201 


fessed  that  hi.s  search  was  in  vain.  He  argued  with 
the  monks,  refuted  them ;  and  they  cast  him  off.  Upon 
his  arrival  the  Chao  Uparat  had  promised  his  assist- 
ance in  the  lawsuit.  When,  however,  he  found  that 
the  I'raya  was  becomiUi,  a  Christian,  he  dropped  him. 
But  he  had  found  an  intercessor  greater  than  any 
earthly  prince.  For  niui  he  was  willing  to  face  all 
opposition  and  to  bear  all  reproach. 

He  was  baptized  on  the  8th  of  May,  just  before  re- 
turning home.  The  rains  had  already  set  in,  and  were 
likely  greatly  (o  impede  his  journey.  Yet  he  reached 
Lakawn  without  encountering  a  shower.  His  account 
of  it  afterwards  was,  that  whenever  he  saw  the  clouds 
threatening,  he  would  wave  his  hands  and  pray  that 
they  nii«jht  be  dispersed.  Lao  Christians  have  not  be- 
come befogged  Avith  doubts  as  to  the  eflQcacy  of  prayer 
for  temporal  blessings.  After  his  return  to  his  home, 
his  family  al!  became  believers,  and  others  also  whom 
he  taught.  At  his  invitation  1  went  over  to  instruct 
them  and  to  administer  the  sacraments.  Two  years 
later  the  numb'"  was  sutlicient  to  warrant  their  or- 
ganization into  a  church,  of  which  the  Praya  was  made 
the  lirst  elder. 

Dr.  Cheek's  return  at  the  end  of  April,  1878,  took 
from  my  shoulders  the  care  of  the  medical  work— a 
very  great  burden.  During  his  ab.sence  I  had  put  up 
a  hospital  building  of  six  rooms.  This  since  then  has 
been  moved,  and  now  forms  the  nucleus  of  the  Chieng- 
mai  nos](ital.  The  doctor  soon  found  himself  over- 
whelmed with  practice.  He  was  a  fine  surgeon  and  a 
good  doctor,  and  had  great  influence  both  with  princes 
and  with  people.  Moreover,  ]Mrs.  Cheek's  inheritance 
of  the  language— like  my  wife's— was  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  them  both.   Only  a  few  days  after  the  doc- 


202  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

tor's  arrival  we  lost  our  valuiilile  hospital  assistant, 
Luntj  In.  One  cvcTiiiij,'  lie  ((iiiiidaiuotl  of  sidiio  trouble 
about  the  heart.  He  talked  a  ie  uiouieuts  with  his 
family,  then  said  he  felt  better  and  would  go  to  sleep — 
and  in  an  instant  was  gone. 

lu  1878  Chieng  St'u,  tlie  old  abandoned  city  which  I 
visited  in  1872,  became  the  theme  of  anxious  consult  a 
tion  on  tlie  \Ki\i  of  t\w  j,'nvi'rnincnt.    Tlie  Lfio  had 
taken  away  the  inhabitants,  but  iH)uld  not  take  away 
the  land.    It  had  become  a  rendezvous  for  robbers 
and  lawless  men  from  all  quarters.   Tlie  Western 
Shans  from  lUirnia  were  settiins  upon  it.    Siani  evi- 
dently must  repopulate  the  province,  or  lose  it.    It  was 
finally  agreed  that  one  thousand  descendants  of  the 
original  captives  should  be  drafted  from  Chiengmai, 
one  thousand  from  Lakawn,  and  tive  hundred  from 
Lampun,  and  sent  Itack  to  reotiuiiy  the  i»rovince.  Chao 
Noi  Inta,  the  highest  in  rank  of  the  available  descend 
ants  of  the  original  captive  primes,  was  oonimissioned 
as  governor.    The  special  interest  this  exodus  has  for 
our  narrative  lies  in  the  fact  that  among  these  re- 
turned captives  was  the  family  of  Nan  Suwan,  one  of 
our  best  men,  and  already  an  elder  of  the  church.  At 
first  Nun  Suwan  thought  of  buying  himself  off,  as 
many  did.   But  when  it  was  pointed  out  to  him  that 
his  going  would  be  the  means  of  starting  a  church 
there,  he  readily  consented  to  go. 

The  governor  was  a  warm  friend  of  mine,  and  was 
urgent  that  we  establish  a  mission  and  a  church  there 
before  Buddhist  temples  could  be  built.  The  province 
was  virgin  soil.  A  great  mortality  usually  attends  the 
repeopliug  of  deserted  places  and  the  clearing  of  the 
land.   The  governor  was  very  anxious  that  we  should 


WITCUCKAFT  203 

send  a  physician.  Had  we  gone  then  witli  five  hun- 
dred ounces  of  quinine,  we  should  have  had  couuuaud 
of  the  Bituation.  As  it  was,  Nan  Suwan  was  furnished 
with  some  quinine,  which  gave  him  the  name  of  doctor. 
Hniad-niinded,  hospitahle,  kindly,  and  thoroughly  np- 
right,  there  could  have  been  no  l)etter  selection.  He 
hecame  the  real  father  of  the  Chieng  S6n  church.  His 
f;iiiiily  was  a  lijiht  in  the  cit.v.  Ilis  youngest  d;uigliter, 
Kui  Keo,  one  of  .Mrs.  MctJilvary's  liist  pupiLs,  taught 
most  of  the  early  Christians  there  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures in  Siamese.  The  elder  himself  became  a  great 
favourite  with  the  governor,  who  used  fo  say  that  the 
tact  of  his  being  giivernor,  and,  theitifore,  under  author- 
ity, alone  prevented  him  from  uniting  with  the  church. 
Auother  of  the  returning  (•ai)tives  was  Si'n  Yfi  Wichai, 
the  first  believer  in  Chiengmai.  He  settled  on  the 
western  border  of  the  Chieng  Sen  plain. 

The  Lao  as  a  race  have  been  in  bondage  to  the  spirits. 
We  have  already  had  frequent  occasion  to  refer  to  the 
slavish  fear  of  them  among  all  classes,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest.  No  ev*  i  in  life,  from  birth  to  the  last 
offices  for  the  dead,  could  be  undertaken  without  con- 
sulting or  appeasing  the  presiding  spirits  of  the  clan, 
the  household,  or  the  country.  Their  anger  is  the  fruit- 
ful cause  of  every  disease  and  calamity  that  tiesh  is 
heir  to. 

In  many  ways  this  would  seem  a  less  elevating  and 
ennobling  cult  than  pure  Buddhism.  lint  really  it 
has  a  much  closer  atfinity  with  Christianity  than  has 
Buddhism,  whether  as  scientilically  held  by  the  learned, 
or  as  embraced  by  the  common  people.  Buddhism  is 
too  atheistic  to  biiiig  it  into  coniparisou  here  with 
Christianity.    It  lacks  the  essential  attribute  of  re- 


204  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


ligion — a  sense  of  dependence  on  gome  higher  power. 

It  belongs  to  a  ditl'eiviit  order  of  Ihoiiglit.  Tlic  spirit 
cult,  on  the  oilier  hand,  does  reio<,'uizt'  invisible  powers 
whose  good-will  or  ill-will  brings  prosperity  or  ad- 
versity. Prom  this  to  one  Great  Spirit,  who  is  sover 
eifiii  over  all,  is  1ml  aiiotlier  step  on  the  same  Hue  of 
asci'Ul.  So  their  spirit oUeriugs  eome  nearer  the  idea 
of  propitiation  than  do  the  offerings  of  baddhism, 
which  in  some  quite  unuecouutable  manner  are  sup- 
posed to  bring  merit  to  the  otVerer. 

A  belief  in  wlteheraft— that  is,  iu  tlie  temporary 
or  permanent  residence  of  some  evil  spirit  in  men — 
has  been  contlued  to  no  one  age  or  race.  Its  i)redom- 
inance  among  the  uortberu  Tai  tri'ues  is  very  i-emark- 
able  in  view  of  its  inconsistency  with  Buddhism,  which 
has  long  been  the  religion  of  the  race.  In  the  contest 
for  supremaoy,  the  spirit cnlt,  while  it  has  not  super- 
seded Buddhism,  has  secured  the  stronger  hold  on 
the  people.  They  worship  Buddha  and  make  offerings 
in  his  temples  ;  but  they  fear  and  dread  the  power  of 
the  pirlts  to  intliet  present  evil.  It  is  safer  to  neglect 
Buddha  than  these.  And  the  power  of  a  malicious 
spirit  is  most  dreaded  when  it  has  taken  up  its  abode 
iu  a  human  habitation. 

From  the  time  of  our  tirst  arrival  iu  Chienguiai  we 
were  continually  amazed  to  find  what  multitudes  of 
l)eople  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  for  supiwsed 
witchcraft.  .Ml  tlie  northern  jtrovinces  and  towns,  as 
has  already  been  mentioned,  were  largely  peopled  by 
that  unfortunate  class.  Accusation  of  witchcraft  had 
become  one  of  the  most  dreaded  means  of  oppression 
and  i»erspcution.  it  v/as  a  favourite  way  of  getting 
rid  of  an  envied  rival  or  of  a  disagreeable  neighbour. 
No  family  and  no  rank  were  safe  from  such  attack. 


WITCHCRAFT 


205 


Princes,  eren,  had  fallen  nnder  Its  ban.   When  once 

the  suspit  inn  of  \vii<  lM  Tiiit  wiis  well  i^tarted,  the  in- 
(iividiial  or  the  family  was  doomed.  Our  sympnthies 
had  often  been  aroused  in  belialf  of  these  unfortunates ; 
bat  no  favonrable  opportunity  bad  occnrred  for  inter- 
ferwice  in  any  othor  wa^  than  by  onr  teaching. 

Finally,  in  August,  1S7S,  the  opportunity  came.  I 
had  a  request  from  a  prince  of  some  wealth  and  stand- 
ing, that  I  would  take  under  onr  protection  PS  8tog 
Tiun  and  her  family,  accused  of  witchcraft.  The 
woman  was  lir.st  the  under-wife  of  the  Prince's  de- 
ceased father,  who  was  a  man  of  note  in  his  day.  She 
had  two  fine  boys  by  a  subsontient  husband,  and  a  niece 
nearly  grown.  This  second  husband  was  a  widower, 
whose  former  wife  was  suspected  of  dealing  in  the 
occnlt  art;  and  the  theory  was  that  the  evil  spirit 
camo  into  hor  family  through  these  sons.  In  that 
season  of  heavy  rains  and  flooded  streams,  the  whole 
family  was  to  be  driven  off — some  of  them  surely  to  die 
on  the  way.  The  patron  said  that  be  was  helpless; 
that  no  one  in  the  land,  unless  it  were  ourselves,  could 
shield  them  from  that  fate.  I  told  him  that  we  were 
perfectly  willing  to  risk  the  anger  of  the  spirits,  only 
we  did  not  wish  unnecessarily  to  offend  the  prejudices 
of  the  people.  lie  wa  .villing  to  assume  all  legal  re- 
sponsibility; for  the  rest,  we  might  fight  it  out  with 
the  spirits  as  we  pleased.  After  notifying  the  Siamese 
Commissioner  of  the  situation,  we  brought  the  family 
to  our  place. 

That  very  day  their  honse  was  burned  down;  and 
not  a  tree  or  bush  was  left  standing  on  the  premisM 
to  furnish  shelter  to  the  spirits.  Rut  that  did  not  stop 
the  clamour.  There  was  then  in  their  village  a  great 
epidemic  of  fever.  By  common  consent  it  was  agreed 


206  AMONG  THE  81AMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

that  this  luul  li»'(>n  raiiscd  by  the  evil  spirit  resident  in 
the  lads.  Willi  Imyish  curinsity  they  liiid  twico  or 
thrice  gone  buck  to  viHit  tlie  hite  t)f  their  old  homo,  and, 
strange  to  say,  after  each  visit  a  new  case  of  sickness 
had  occurred,  which  was,  of  course.  attril)uled  to  their 
presence.  It  was  vain  to  point  out  the  utter  ridicu- 
lousness of  the  idea,  or  to  show  that  no  sickness  had 
occurred  on  our  place  wince  their  arrival.  That  was 
easily  explained.  The  spirit  v  as  afraid  of  our  tJod, 
and  did  not  dare  to  enter  the  premises,  it  took  refuge 
in  a  large  tree  outside  till  the  boys  came  out  again, 
when  it  entered  its  former  habitation  and  went  with 
them. 

Finally  the  patron  prince  sent  word  that  we  must 
give  that  family  up.  He  could  endure  the  odium  no 
longer.  When  I  refused,  he  threatened  to  take  the 
matter  into  cour  To  this  I  replied  that  I  was  per- 
fectly willing  thu.  ihe  case  be  tried;  but  it  should  not 
be  tried  before  a  Lfto  court,  but  before  the  Commis- 
si(mer.  If  they  could  convince  him  that  the  sickness 
in  the  village  was  caused  by  a  malicious  spirit  resi- 
dent in  that  family,  ♦hey  should  be  sent  ott  immedi- 
ately. But,  I  addef'  t  would  Ite  fair  to  make  one  con- 
dition. If  the  accusers  failed,  they  should  be  driven 
off.  This— as  I  knew  it  would  do— put  an  end  to  the 
whole  affair.  We  heard  no  more  of  it.  It  was  a  gr^t 
victory  in  the  dem.tu  controver.'^y ;  and,  later,  as  we 
shall  see,  it  proved  a  boon  to  scores  of  helpless  vic- 
tims. Before  the  arrival  of  the  Commissioner  such 
an  outcome  would  have  been  impossible.  No  Lao 
court  would  have  refused  to  expel  persons  so  accused. 
The  family  of  Pa  S^ng  Bun  proved  to  be  a  treasure, 
becoming  one  of  the  most  influential  and  valuable  in 
the  Chiengmai  church. 


XIX 


THE  EDICT  OP  RELIGIOUS  TOLERATION 
"^UR  narrative  has  now  brought  us  to  a  point 


where  an  apparently  trivial  circumstance  be- 


^^--^  caiiu'  lln'  occasion  of  an  ovcnt  not  only  of  ut 
most  iniportuuce  to  us  and  to  our  \vt)rk,  but  of  far- 
reaching  consequences  to  the  country  at  large.  Some- 
time near  the  middle  of  this  year.  ISTs,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Nan  Inta  was  to  be  married  to  a  Christian 
young  man  studying  for  the  ministry.  IJoth  parties 
at  that  time  were  virtually  members  of  onr  family. 
The  expected  bride  was  a  pujiil  of  Mrs.  McGilvary's, 
and  the  groom  was  a  private  pupil  of  mine.  The  im- 
mediate family  connections  on  both  sides  were  Chris- 
tians. Inasmuch  as  this  was  the  first  Christian  mar- 
riage in  the  cliurrh,  we  had  [trepared  to  celebrate  it 
with  a  little  wedding  feast.  Besides  the  Christians,  a 
few  princes  and  a  few  special  friends  were  invited,  all 
anxious  to  see  a  Christian  marriage  ceremony.  Among 
thr  invited  guests  was  Chao  Tepawong,  Kan  Inta's 
liege-lord,  and  brother  of  the  Uparat. 

We  learned  that  the  family  patriarch — known  to  be 
a  violent  ojiposer  of  Christianity — had  threatened  to 
prevent  the  marriage,  unless  we  tirst  paid  to  him,  as 
tribal  head  of  the  family,  the  spirit  fee  originally  de- 
signed to  furnish  a  feast  for  the  spirits.  It  was  a 
small  sum — ainong  oommon  people  not  more  than  six 
rupees.   That  payment  would  legalize  marriage  with- 


807 


2U8  AMONd  Tin:  SlAMKSi:  ANI»  TIIK  .AH 


out  iiiiv  furiluT  (t'lvmuiiv.  In  fiiii,  I  In-  |i:i\iiu'nt  may 
be  regarded  a«  u  di.stiuttivel>  religious  uct,  sime  it 
recognizes  the  spirits  as  the  guardians  and  protectors 
of  tlie  fauiily.  VVIicu  one  Imtuiik's  m  ( 'hiisl iati,  llial 
allegiaiire  in  cast  oil".  lU  an  uuwritteu  law  or  itiH- 
tuui  of  the  euuntr.v,  tliat  fee  belonged  to  the  patriarch, 
and  he  decided  to  exact  it  or  tualie  trouble.  I  luul 
('Xjilaiucd  llii-  iiiari  iaiic  i  cn  iiiiiiiv  tn  tin-  |iriii(  i's  iiud  to 
the  tJouiiiiissioner.  1  linew  llial  the  latter  rwogni/.ed 
the  justice  of  onr  position,  and  I  assumed  that  the 
goverunieiit  would  support  us  if  the  patriarch  cauMd 
any  troultle. 

Sure  enough,  early  ilt  I  lie  morning  the  patriarch's 
loud  voice  was  heard  in  our  yard  threateniii.*;  dire  pun- 
ishment to  the  family  if  his  demand  were  not  granted. 
The  bride's  father  became  alarmed,  and  thought  we 
must  have  some  official  baikiug.  or  he  would  surely 
get  into  trouble.  The  guests  had  arrived,  and  every 
one  was  on  the  rirc  to  see  wliicli  side  was  to  win 
in  the  contest.  I  went  to  the  liege  lord  of  the  family 
for  his  sanction ;  but  he  said  it  was  too  big  a  question 
for  liiiii  I"  pass  npuii.  I  must  go  to  a  higlu  r  authority. 
It  liad  evidently  become  a  question  that  eould  not  be 
settled  that  morning.  Old  Adam  would  have  said, 
"  Marry  them  and  trust  to  the  justice  of  your  cause. 
Let  the  old  patriarch  whistlel"  lUit  we  teach  our 
Christians  to  be  obedient  to  the  law,  and  we  wi.shed  to 
avoid  unnecessary  trouble.  So  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  to  swallow  our  mortification,  apologize  to  our 
guests,  invite  them  to  partake  of  the  feast,  and  seek 
legal  sanction  afterwards. 

After  dinner  that  same  day  Dr.  Cheek  and  I  called 
upon  the  Commissioner.  t'e  hn<l  failed,  and  were 
come  to  him  for  advice,   llis  sympathies  were  easily 


Till:  I'.hirT  oi'  i;i;Li(;i(>rs  tolkk'ation  jon 


pqUkIchI,  liiil  lie  IuhI  no  nuthorit.v  to  intcrfcrR  in  local 
or  tribal  matters.  He  fldvlRcd  nH  to  p^o  to  the  Primv. 
We  dill  BO,  mectini;  liiin  iiiid  tlio  Priru  <>sn  ali  ae.  Tbeir 
position  \v!is  like  that  of  flic  ( 'omrnissiorMT  Tlipy. 
too,  K,vin|)atlii/.('(l  with  tlu-  .yoiin;;  couple  ^ud  with  n». 
But  it  raiited  a  new  quetttion  for  them,  anif  they  frm^d 

ill   <r!V('  oirciKc.    The    I'liricess   sai<l  h;i  'fm 

criticised  Uy  our  enemies  for  siandinj;  hv  us,  !.*  il"  the 
rhao  Uparat  would  give  hiH  sanction,  bo  one  else, 
tiiey  thought,  would  dare  oppose.  Ho  v,c  w«it  next  to 
the  Upnrilt ;  hut  there  we  r;iii  atjn'ii  t  a  hT.  ije  wai!  He 
inwardly  laughed  at  our  predicament,  lie  had  us  just 
where  he  wanted  us  to  he.  If  our  young  people  could 
not  inarr.v.  oiir  work  !il  In-  /iriuall.v  slopped.  Fie 
said  that  no  one  hut  tli.-  Kiii^  of  Siam  had  c  ■.■•*y 
to  interfere  in  such  a  ipiesiion. 

We  returned  home  signally  defeated.  Next  day  I 
went  alone  to  the  (*hao  fparat.  and  arpied  rhe  justice 
of  our  case.  The  parlies  Ijad  renounced  their  allegi- 
ance to  the  spirits.  It  was  clearly  unreasonable  to  re- 
quire what  we  could  not  conscientiously  submit  to.  I 
even  he;;j?e<l  him  to  come  to  our  aid,  since  hoth  the 
Coinmi.ssioner  and  the  Triuce  had  said  that  they  were 
sure  that  no  one  else  would  oppose  his  decision.  If 
we  were  coiujielled,  we  must  iippi  ;il  to  [lis  Maj^ty  the 
King  of  Siani.  tliouph  we  should  he  very  reluctant  to 
do  so.  Since  marriage  is  a  civil  as  well  as  a  religious 
rite,  I  was  sure  His  Majesty  would  admit  the  justice 
of  our  app<'al.  Either  thinki' g;  that  we  would  not 
make  the  appeal,  or  that  the  apjteal  would  be  in  vain, 
he  at  last  refused  to  diiieuss  the  question  farther. 
Little  did  he  know.  n<u-  did  we  thea,  that  he  was  doing 
the  best  possible  tliiufj  for  us. 

I  returnetl  then  to  the  Commissioner  to  report.  The 


210  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


conflict  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  probably  inevitable 
between  the  royal  anthority  represented  by  the  Com- 
missioner on  the  one  hand,  and  the  local  rulers  on  the 
other,  was  becoming  inevitable  sooner  than  was  an- 
ticipated. The  Commissioner  just  then  was  himself 
having  great  trouble  with  ofiBcials  who  were  restive 
under  his  authority.  The  Lakawn  Princes  had  a  dif- 
ficulty among  themselves,  and  had  come  to  the  Com- 
missioner to  have  the  case  adjudicated.  His  decision 
had  been  unfavourable  to  one  of  the  higher  officials — 
probably  tlie  chief  liiiiiself.  Whoever  it  was,  he  had 
committed  the  unpardonable  offence  of  departing  to 
Lakawn  without  taking  leave  of  the  Commissioner, 
presumably  intending  to  appeal  to  Bangkok.  So  Uiat 
morning  I  found  His  Excellency  indignant  at  the  in- 
sult offered  to  him,  and,  through  him,  to  his  sovereign. 
The  royal  authority  which  he  represented  was  chal- 
lenged. Moreover,  some  of  the  acts  of  the  Chao 
Uparat  had  offended  him.  His  imi»ressions  were  con- 
firmed and  strengthened  by  the  recital  of  onr  griev- 
ances. He  advised  me  to  write  the.se  all  out  in  full, 
giving  specifications  that  could  be  substantiated — and 
such  were  rapidly  multiplying.  For,  provoked  at  Nan 
Iota  and  his  family,  and  emboldened  with  his  own  suc- 
cess in  stopping  tlie  wedding,  the  Chao  Fparfit  had 
summoned  Nan  luta  and  had  set  him  to  watching  his 
summer-house  on  the  river — the  work  of  a  menial,  such 
as  Nan  Inta  had  never  yet  b',en  reduced  to  doing. 

At  last  tlie  iiioriicnt  had  come  when  an  appeal  for 
religious  toleratitm  mi<,at  be  made  with  fair  pros- 
pect of  success.  As  the  orly  way  of  avoiding  con- 
tinual intcrferenie  in  the  future,  the  Commissioner 
himself  advised  that  the  appeal  be  made  for  religious 
toleration  in  general,  rather  than  for  freedom  of 


THE  EDICT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TOLERATION  211 


Christian  marriage,  which  -as  only  a  single  item. 

The  Commissioner  was  busily  engaged  in  writing  out  a 
report  of  hie  own  grievances,  to  be  sent  to  the  King.  He 
said  that  he  would  mention  our  case  also  in  his  report, 
and  offered  to  forward  my  letter  with  his  despatches. 

I  immediately  dropped  everything  else,  and  ad- 
dressed myself  to  writing  that  appeal  unto  Caesar.  In 
it  I  referred  to  the  sanction  of  the  Biamese  government 
to  the  establishment  of  the  mission,  given  after  the 
interview  with  Prince  Kawilorot  at  Wat  Chfing,  and 
subsequently  renewed  on  the  appointment  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Prince  Intanon.   I  was  very  careful  not  only 
to  exonerate  the  latter  from  all  blame,  but  also  highly 
to  commend  both  him  and  his  Princess  for  their  uni- 
form kindness,  and  for  their  sympathy  in  this  par- 
ticular emergency.    But  the  act  of  the  Chao  Uparut 
was,  no  doubt,  only  the  beginning  of  what  he  would  do 
if  he  were  not  restryined.    It  was  evidently  his  inten- 
tion to  reduce  to  slavery  a  family  that  had  always 
been  free.    In  behalf  of  his  loyal  Christian  subjects 
we  begged  His  Majesty  to  guarantee  to  them  the  same 
privileges,  civil  and  religious,  which  his  other  subjects 
enjoyed,  among  which  surely  was  the  right  to  be  mar- 
ried aroording  to  the  corcniony  of  their  own  religion. 
One  request  1  put  in  with  some  misgiving — that  the 
Christians  niight  be  exempted  from  compulsory  work 
on  the  Sabbath;  otherwise  that  point  might  always  be 
used  to  create  difficulty  when  the  master  was  hostile. 
While  thus  making  our  appeal  to  man,  importunate 
prayer  was  continually  offered  to  Him  who  had  been 
our  help  in  times  past. 

It  was  very  necessary  that  the  appeal  should  go  as 
the  joint  action  of  the  mission  as  then  constituted.  I 
was  aware  that  Dr.  Cheek,  the  only  other  member  of 


212  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


the  mlBsion  then  on  the  ground,  did  not  enter  heartily 
into  the  appeal.  H(  was  fearful  tliat  it  would  only 
make  bad  worse;  that  it  would  give  offence  to  the  Lao 
rulers,  and  possibly  to  the  Siamese  as  well.  But  as  re- 
gards the  Lfto,  matters  had  already  reached  an  extrem- 
ity in  the  case  of  the  one  who  really  ruled  the  coun- 
try. And  as  to  the  Siamese,  our  only  human  hope 
was  in  the  King.  So,  when  my  jjajter  was  finished,  I 
took  it  to  Dr.  Clieek,  and  read  it  over  to  hiju.  He 
listened  very  attentively  to  the  i-eading.  and  at  its 
close  I  was  delighted  to  hear  hiui  say,  "That  seems 
all  right."  After  a  few  clerical  alterations  which  he 
suggested,  we  both  signed  the  paper.  A  summary  of 
it  was  read  to  the  Commissioner,  and  was  afterwards 
enclosed  by  him  with  his  despat<  ''e  .  Our  appeal 
to  the  King  of  Siam  had,  of  course,  to  be  made  through 
the  T'nited  States  Consul,  (  olonel  Siekels.  Our  letter 
to  the  King  was,  therefore,  rmt  unsealed  under  cover  to 
the  Consul,  so  that  he  might  read  it  -  and  with  it  went 
a  letter  giving  him  a  full  account  of  all  the  particulars 
of  the  case,  and  urging  him  to  ust  his  inlluence,  both 
personal  and  oflQcial,  on  our  behalf.  The  whole  was 
entrusted  to  a  special  messenger  in  a  swift  boat,  with 
instructions  to  make  all  possible  speed. 

Having  done  our  best,  we  waited  prayerfully  and 
hopefully.  Hut  the  greatness  of  the  issue  involved 
made  us  anxious.  The  liberal  policy  of  the  young 
King  was  not  then  so  well  known  as  it  became  later. 
One  oould  not  be  absolutely  certain  how  even  our 
Consul  would  regard  it.  We  trusted,  however,  to  the 
friendship  of  the  Foreign  Minister,  who  had  invited  me 
to  I'echaburi.  and  who  had  always  been  our  true 
friend.  No  one  of  all  these  persons  concerned  disap- 
pointed our  expectations,  or  even  our  hopes. 


THE  EDICT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TOLERATION  213 


(Vdonel  Sickols  acted  with  commendable  despatch. 
He  was  favoured  in  securing  an  audience  without  the 
usual  formalities.  At  that  time  His  Maj«itj  had  a  reg- 
ular day  each  weclv  when  liis  subjects  and  others  might 
approach  liim  infoimallv  in  his  summer  garden  with 
petitions  on  urgent  business.  Our  apijeal  was  pre- 
sented to  him  there.  He  was  already  aware  of  its  na- 
ture througli  tlie  Commissioner's  despatches.  Anxiety 
witli  regard  to  the  political  situation  in  the  North  no 
doubt  prompted  hira  to  a  decisive  assertion  of  author- 
ity in  this  matter  as  well.  His  Majesy  informed  the 
Consul  that  his  government  had  already  reached  a 
decision  favourable  to  our  request,  and  that  full  re- 
ligious toleration  was  to  be  proclaimed. 

The  courier  returned  with  unwonted  s|)eed,  re.  h- 
ing  Chieugmai  on  Sunday,  September  2J)th.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  of  that  day  the  Commissioner  notified 
me  of  the  arrival  of  despatches.  Next  morning  I  called 
upon  him.  He  was  radiant  with  joy.  All  his  own  re- 
quests had  been  granted,  and  enlarged  powers  had  been 
given  him,  including  power  to  make  proclamation  of 
religious  toleration  in  all  the  Lfio  states.  He  seemed 
as  much  delighted  with  our  success  as  with  his  own. 
He  said  that  he  had  already  notitied  the  princes  and 
officials  to  call  in  the  afternoon,  and  he  would  then 
inform  them  of  the  result.  Of  coarse,  our  hearti  were 
overflowing  with  gratitude. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  Prince,  the  Chao  UparSt, 
and  all  the  high  officials  were  assembled.  When  the 
order  for  the  proclamation  was  made  known,  some  of 
them  made  a  final  personal  appeal  to  him  to  stay  pro- 
ceedings. They  argued  that  unrestricted  permission 
to  become  Christians  wonid  be  the  ruin  of  the  country. 
To  understand  the  force  of  this  objection  it  must  be 


214  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

remembered  that  among  the  LJo,  breach  of  the  Ser- 
enth  Commandment  was  punished,  not  by  civil  op 
criminal  procedure,  but  bv  a  "  spirit  fine  "  paid  to  the 
patriarch  of  the  woman's  family.    It  was  argued  that 
if  Christian  young  men  should  tranf^nf«w 
girlB  or  women,  under  the  new  regime,  no  fine  could  be 
imposed,  and  there  would  be  no  redress  whatever.  The 
Commissioner  then  sent  a  messenger,  asking  me  to 
come  to  the  audience.   The  scene,  as  I  entered,  re- 
niinde<l  me  of  that  other  notable  audience  with  Prince 
Kttv^ilorot  and  another  Commissioner.   The  Commis- 
sioner stated  their  objection,  and  asked  me  what  I  had 
to  say.    I  replied  that  the  difficulty  was  purely  an 
imaginary  one.    In  the  first  place,  it  was  a  cardinal 
doctrine  of  the  church  to  forbid  such  sins.    In  the 
second  place,  if  a  professed  Christian  violated  his  vows, 
he  made  himself  amenable  to  the  discipline  of  the 
church,  and  so  put  himself  beyond  its  protection.  The 
Commissioner  said,  "  I  have  already  so  answered,  bnt  I 
wanted  those  who  are  present  to  hear  it  from  the 
teacher  himself."    To  this  no  reply  was  made.  After 
a  short  pause  the  Commissioner  broke  the  silence. 
With  a  gesture  to  the  andience,  he  said  that  the  busi- 
ness was  ended.    When  he  had  leisure,  the  Edict 
would  be  issued.   One  after  another  the  assembled 
princes  and  officials  retired. 

On  my  way  home  I  noticed  that  the  Chao  Uparit  had 
stopped  at  his  little  sala  beside  the  ri -er,  the  same 
that  Nan  Inta  had  been  set  to  watch.  To  show  that 
I  had  no  personal  grudge,  I  stopjied  to  call  on  him. 
Rising,  he  gave  me  a  more  respectful  welcome  than 
usual,  and  ordered  a  foreign  rug  to  he  spread— the  re- 
spectful way  of  receiving  guests  before  the  day  of 
chairs.  When  I  was  seated  he  asked  why  I  had  made 


THE  EDICT  OP  RELIGIOUS  TOLERATION  215 


complaint  against  him  to  Bani^ok— he  was  very  sore 
at  heart  about  it.  I  replied  that  1  was  sorry,  indeed, 
to  be  ohliged  to  do  it.  Did  he  not  remember  how  I 
had  told  him  that  we  conld  not  snbmit  to  his  decision; 
how  I  had  even  entreated  him  not  to  force  us  to  ap- 
peal to  the  King?  And  I  could  not  appeal  without 
giving  the  facts  as  my  ground  for  so  doiug.  But  now 
I  hoped  that  bygones  might  be  bygones,  and  that  we 
might  be  friends— The  fact  was  that  my  letter  had 
been  translated  in  Bangkok,  sent  back  to  Chiengmai, 
and  had  been  read  at  the  audience  before  my  arrival. 
But  I  nevor  before  had  such  a  reception  from  the 
Uparat. 

The  wording  of  the  proclamation  was  left  to  the 
Commissioner.  If  he  had  been  hostile,  or  even  indif- 
ferent, its  effect  might  easily  have  been  neutralized 
by  a  little  vagueness  or  ambiguity.  But  he  was 
anxious  to  have  the  matter  settled  decisively.  When 
I  took  my  leave  of  him  that  morning,  he  promised  to 
show  me  the  draft  of  the  proclamation  before  he  sliould 
affix  his  seal.  When  I  saw  it,  there  were  only  a  few 
verbal  changes  to  suggest.  It  was  a  general  permis- 
sion to  the  Lfio  to  adopt  any  religion  tliey  pU  iiscd.  I 
suggested  that  since  it  was  specifically  granted  in  (he 
interest  of  Christians,  it  was  desirable  that  Christi- 
anity be  specifically  named— which  was  done.  At  my 
request  two  extra  copies  of  the  proclamation  were 
made  with  the  official  seals  attached;  one  for  deposit 
in  our  safe,  and  one  that  might  be  read  to  the  people. 
The  following  is  a  literal  translation  of  this  famous 
document: 

I  Praya  Tep  Worachun,  Representative  of  IH3  Majesty 
the  Supreme  King  of  Siam  in  Chiengmai,  Lampiin,  and 
Lakawn,  hereby  make  prodsmation  to  the  PrinceB,  Rulers, 


21fi  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


and  Officers  of  various  grades,  and  to  the  common  peoiilu 
in  the  cities  and  provinces  named: — That  His  Majesty  the 
King  of  Siam  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  send  me  a 
Royal  Letter  under  the  Koyal  Seal,  to  the  effect  that  D.  E. 
Sickels,  Esqr.,  United  States  Consul,  had  communicated  to 
the  Foreign  Minister  of  Siam  a  complaint  signed  I'y  Kev. 
D.  McGilvary  and  Dr.  M.  A.  Cheek  against  certain  parties 
for  molesting  the  Christians  and  compelling  them  to  oh- 
Berve  their  old  religious  customs.  The  Foreign  Minister  laid 
the  subject  before  His  Majesty,  who  most  graciously  listened 
to  the  said  complaint,  and  gave  the  following  Royal  Com- 
mand in  reference  to  the  same: — 

That  religious  and  ciTil  duties  do  not  come  in  conflict. 
That  whoever  wishes  to  emhriice  any  religion  after  seeing 
that  it  is  true  and  proper  to  be  embraced,  is  allowed  to  do 
so  without  any  restriction.  That  the  responsibility  for  a 
right  or  a  wrong  choice  rests  on  the  individual  making  the 
choice.  That  there  is  nothing  in  the  laws  and  customs  of 
Siam,  nor  in  its  foreign  treaties,  to  throw  any  restriction  on 
the  religious  worship  and  ?-er\  iw  of  any  one. 

To  be  more  specific: — If  any  person  or  persons  wish  to 
embrace  the  Christian  Religion,  they  are  freely  permitted 
to  follow  their  own  choice. 

This  Proclamation  is  to  certify  that  from  this  time 
forth  all  persons  are  permitted  to  follow  the  dictates  of  their 
own  conscience  in  all  matters  of  religious  belief  and  practice. 

It  is  moreover  strictly  enjoined  on  Princes  and  Rulers, 
and  on  relatives  and  friends  of  those  who  wish  to  become 
Christians,  that  they  throw  no  obstacles  in  their  way,  and 
that  no  one  enforce  any  creed  or  work  which  their  religion 
forbids  them  to  hold  or  to  do — such  as  the  worship  and 
feasting  of  demons,  and  working  on  the  Sabbath  day,  except 
in  the  case  of  war  and  other  great  unavoidable  works,  which, 
however,  must  not  be  a  mere  pretence,  but  really  important. 
Be  it  further  observed  that  they  are  to  have  free  and  unob- 
structed observance  of  the  Sabbath  day.  And  no  obstacle  is 
to  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  American  citizens  employing  such 
persons  as  they  may  need,  since  such  would  be  a  breach  of  the 
treaty  between  the  two  countries. 

Whenerer  this  Proclamation  is  made  known  to  the  Princea 


TlUu  EDICT  OF  KKLIGIOUS  TOLERATION  217 


and  Rulers  iiml  Oflieer.s  aiiil  Pooplc,  tlioy  are  to  beware  and 
violate  no  precept  contained  tliereiii. 

Proclamation  made  on  the  Thirteenth  Day  of  the  Eleventh 
waxing  Moon,  in  the  Eleventh  Year  of  His  Majesty's  Reign, 
October  the  Eighth,  Eighteen  Hundred  and  Seventy-Eight. 

The  Edict  farnishes  a  second  natural  division  in  the 
history  of  the  Lfio  mission.  Its  first  period  was  one  of 
struggle  f«)r  its  very  existence,  euhninating  in  positive 
prohibition  to  preaeb  the  gospel  and  virtual  expulsion  of 
the  missionaries.  That  situation  was  abruptly  brought 
to  an  end  by  the  death  of  Prince  Kawildrot  and  the 
appointment  of  his  son-in-law,  Princa  Intanon.  In 
our  second  period  of  struggle,  the  conclusion  of  which 
we  have  just  witnessed,  the  conditions  were  in  many 
resy)ects  similar  to  those  of  the  first.  Our  chief  an- 
tagonists in  the  two  contests  were  alike  in  their  love 
of  absolute  power,  in  their  determination  to  break 
down  all  rival  influences,  {^nd  alike,  therefore,  in  their 
settled  hostility  to  our  work.  In  neither  case  was  their 
antagonism  to  Christianity  primarily  on  religious 
grounds.  But  KSwilOrot  was  of  much  more  imposing 
personality  and  figure  than  the  Fparat. 

Within  his  own  realm  Kawilorot  was  really  "  Lord 
of  Life."  He  was  absolute  head  both  of  church  and 
of  state.  He  brooked  no  rival  and  no  contradiction  in 
either.  The  liifjliest  positions  in  the  religious  hier- 
archy were  bestowed  or  withdrawn  at  his  pleasure. 
His  own  brothers-in-law  languished  in  exile  in  Siam, 
because  it  was  not  thought  safe  for  them  to  return 
and  be  within  his  reach.  At  home  he  had  vanquished 
or  terrified  into  submission  all  possible  rivals.  Even 
the  court  of  Siam  seemed  inspired  with  a  wholesome 
fear  of  meddling  with  him.  The  crime  of  the  first 
Christians  was  the  unpardonable  one  that  they  had 


218  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LlO 


dared  to  become  such  against  the  will  of  Kawilorot. 
Hut  the  time  and  place  for  such  rulers  had  passed. 
Such  attitude  and  temper  suited  oeitker  a  positioa 
under  saperior  anthority,  nor  the  policy  of  a  govem- 
mont  striving  to  rise  with  the  progress  of  the  age. 
Hut  he  served  his  purprae  in  the  world,  and  Providence 
used  him. 

Of  bis  titular  succeggor,  Prince  Intanon,  and  of  his 

noMe  wife,  I  have  already  spoken.  His  real  successor 
in  the  government  of  the  land,  and  in  his  championship 
of  the  old  r^me  of  fendal  autocracy,  was  the  Chao 
Uparut.  liut  he  had  neither  the  commanding  dignity 
of  KiTwilorot  nor  his  interesting  personality; — had  lit- 
tle, in  fact,  of  any  of  his  qualities  save  his  lodged  and 
settled  hatred  of  all  innovation.  For  him  we  had  none 
of  a  certain  kind  of  re8{)ect  which  the  late  Prince  in- 
spired; and  we  were  under  no  constraint  of  gratitude 
fur  favours.  The  only  debt  of  gratitude  the  mission 
owed  him  was  for  being,  by  bis  lawless  acts,  the  un- 
witting  and  unwilling  cause  of  the  proclamation  of  re- 
ligious freedom. 

But  the  crisis  which  he  precipitated  hastened  'ike- 
wi.se  that  centralization  of  government  which  Siam  was 
waiting  for.  The  tendency  of  the  age  is  everywhere 
toward  centralization.  Strong  central  governments 
are  everywhere  taking  the  place  of  weak  and  scattered 
ones.  Chieugiuai  itself  and  all  the  existing  Lao  states 
have  grown  by  the  capture  and  absorption  of  their 
weaker,  though  by  no  means  iusignilicant,  neighbours. 
The  authority  end  fear  of  Siam  had  long  been  felt  in- 
directly in  preventing  those  ])etty  wars  in  which  one 
weak  state  captured  and  enslaved  another.  That 
authority  was  now  to  be  exerted  more  directly  to  bring 
to  an  end  the  era  of  arbitrary,  personal,  antoeratic 


THK  EDICT  OF  UKLKJIOUS  TOLERATION  219 


rulo  MiiioTiR  its  (IcjH'iKlcricios.  .ind  to  ostiililisli  in  its 
place  the  more  equal  and  istable  reigu  of  law.  Feudal- 
ism with  its  "  organised  anarchy  "  was  to  give  way  to 
the  Nation. 

Such  wiis  tlu'  period  at  which  we  have  arrived  in  this 
narrative  of  our  life  and  work  in  the  Lao  states.  It 
is  a  wonderful  thing  to  bare  lived  through  such  a 
series  of  changes,  and  possibly  to  hsive  boon,  under 
Providence,  the  mean.s  of  bringing  some  of  them  about. 
We  work  for  an  end  apparent  to  ourselves;  but  God's 
designs  are  deeper  and  broader  than  ours.  "  He 
maketh  the  wrath  of  nian  to  praise  Ilim."  Of  nations, 
as  well  as  of  individuals,  is  it  true  that 

"  There's  a  diTinity  that  shapes  our  ends. 
Bough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

Among  the  Christians  the  Edict,  of  course,  was 

greeted  with  an  outburst  of  joy.  To  Nan  Inta  it  was 
like  life  from  the  dead.  It  was  in  reality  freedom  from 
slavery.  And  no  man  made  such  efficient  use  of  it  as 
he  did.  With  the  sealed  copy  of  the  Edict  in  his  hand, 
he  returned  to  his  village;  and  wherever  he  went  he 
could  assure  the  people,  on  the  faith  of  his  Sovereign, 
that  a  profession  of  the  "  Jesus-religion  "  meant  neither 
the  rulltian's  club  nor  slavery.  The  effects  of  the  Edict 
upon  the  church  will  be  traced  in  its  future  growth 
as  our  story  moves  on.  I  may  venture,  however,  to  an- 
ticipate so  much — that  within  two  years'  time  two  of 
our  strongest  village  churches  were  organized;  one  of 
them  in  Nan  Inta's  own  village.  Neither  of  these 
churches  could  have  existed  had  not  the  UparSt's 
power  been  abridged. 
To  the  country,  the  new  authority  conferred  on  the 


220  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


High  CommisHioner  at  that  time  has  resnlted  in  a 
revolution  as  silent  and  as  effeetual  as  tlie  clianR*'  of 
the  seasons.  His  new  title,  I'u  Sami-et  liiahakau— he 
who  fulflllB  the  King's  work— was  tned,  I  believe,  for 
the  first  time  in  that  proclamation ;  and  it  really 
iiiarke<l  the  passing  of  the  sceptre  I'rom  the  hands  of 
the  Princes  of  Chiengmai.  The  titular  Chao  Chiwit— 
Lord  of  Life — was  allowed  to  retain  his  title  and 
honours  during  his  lifetime;  but  he  has  had  no  sui- 
cessor.  The  Lao  country  has  ceased  to  be  either  a 
feudal  dependency  or  a  separate  "buffer-state." 
Silently— almost  imperceptibly— it  has  become  an  in- 
tegral portion  of  the  consolidated  Kingdom  of  Siam. 
Autocratic  rule  has  everywhere  ceased.  And  all  theae 
changes  are  directly  in  line  with  the  ciTiUzati<Hi  of  the 
age. 


XX 


80HOOL8— THE  NINE  YEABS'  WANDEBEB 

l^IIE  year  1870  opened  anspiciously.    In  March  a 


little  variety  was  introduced  into  our  secluded 


life  by  an  official  visit  to  Cbiengmai  of  Major 

Street,  the  British  Cominissioner  at  Maulmein.  Uo 
and  his  party  arrived  quite  unexpectedly,  spent  a  week 
in  the  city,  and  attended  an  English  service  at  the 
mission  on  Sunday.  We  met  them  a  number  of  times, 
both  socially  and  at  official  dinners.  They  strenpth- 
ened  the  position  of  the  Commissioner,  and  did  us  all 
good.  Bnt  at  that  time  we  were  anzionsly  awaiting 
another  arrival,  in  which  wo  were  itutro  intimately  con 
cemed.  Mr.  Wilson,  who  had  been  for  two  and  a  half 
years  absent  on  furlough,  was  daily  expected,  and  with 
him  were  onr  long-looked-for  teachers  for  the  Girls' 
School. 

The  party  was  to  arrive  on  April  9th.  To  please 
the  three  children  and  myself,  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
8th  we  f(»ur  started  down  the  river  in  a  smal'  ^i.at 
to  meet  and  welcome  them.  Rut  the  river  was  low. 
and  we  had  not  yet  reached  them  when  darkness  came 
on  and  we  were  obliged  to  seek  moorings.  When,  st 
last,  we  pot  ashore,  we  1r  1  to  our  preat  joy  thai 
the  mission  boats  were  moored  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  below,  in  the  samo  bend  of  the  river.  W^e 
all  walked  down  in  the  moonlight,  and  presently  spied 
their  lights  close  at  hand.  The  young  ladies  had  re- 


881 


'222  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

tUvil  to  rvMl  F)Mf  ri..t  sh-e^.  Tlie  meeting  by  moon- 
light  at  the  rivers  bi-mU  was  ,,i,ite  romauli.  \Ve 
talked  till  ten  o'clock,  ih.,ugl.  Mr.  \\  i|«uu  wu«  «o 
thnt  he  could  wan.  iv  spoak.  At  daybreak  our 
•Ic^t  was  un.ipr  wav.  \\ ,.  ,  j„„,  i.^eakfast  to- 
gether on  board— our  visii  ,!...  tl  il.Hr  liitle  table  and 
we  on  the  deck.  We  theu  vixcd  hard  again  until 
noon;  but  it  was  two  o  =  ioik  In-foro  we  caught  sight 
of  the  niiHsion  prpinis  >.  -  i,!:  rhrkrtiaag 
all  waiting  to  greet  the  ar..val>,  ..i.l  an. I    ,  « 

The  High  Commisaioner.  a  fen  .1  .  la  n,  ^ave  a 
dinner  to  the  uiiwlon,  saying  in  the  n...<.  «f  ;nvitati«i 
that  It  was  iu  honour  of  the  yount;  ladies.  U,v  the  bold- 
ness and  loety  that  enabled  theui  to  leav-  ^heir  f  irhers 
•ad  mothera,  and  c ./  »e  so  far  n.  tea-  i.  hi.M  y^ovle 
When  notified  of  their  arrival,  the  PHncess  seat  down 
carriages  and  had  us  all  up  to  .all  h.  r.  she  was 
delighted  to  welcome  the  young  ladit»,  ai«l  was  kiter 
Mted  in  the  school. 

The  Siamese  and  the  lAo  ton^'ucs  are  two  ci  .sely  r. 
lated  branches  of  the  .same  linguistic  stock    The  Lliom 
and  the  great  body  of  common  words  are  nearly  the 
same  in  the  (wo,  differing,  where  they  do  <i»ffer,  chieflv 
in  a.ce-it  >-;d  intonation.    Siamese  is,  „f  co  m  -,.  the 
spt'ich  of  tue  ruling  race  throughout  (fie  Siames.  ;  in,,, 
dom;  and  even  at  tb.^  time  of  which  we  are  sf^ak  ug 
It  was  easy  to  for.  *  that  the  loeal  dialect  of  ^ts 
rortherji  provinces      st  cventuallv  give  way  befo.  it 
csjieeially  for  all  r   ,  ial  and  literary  purpo.^es.  n,,' 
chief  obstacle  in  tl-    way  of  a  speedv  victor v  for  n  <• 
Sh.mese  ha.s  been  t,    fact  that  the  I^  is  written  n  a 
wholly  different  character.   Were  the  iwo  alike  id  This 


KCHOOL8-T  TR  XIXR  YEAB«'  WAXDBRER  223 


reHpeet,  then      nv  douh'  ♦ha*  the  standard  fenn  of 
speech  wouUI  iake  ttw  ^.iaee    f  liie  Jialectal  mimmt 
without  notice. 
Of  necessity  all  teat  hlng     far  sttempted  ha4  been 

111  tliH  Hiuuietie.    Ther«  wiif  no   a  MtUuolbook  in  the 

Ifni  eh,:     I  '<r    ,(vi>  '  ht  ta   !es.    Wh  ii  thcac 

Juid  heeii    i  ..s<,  ii  '    lici      as  u  ag  '0  Liio 

thai  «>oal(i  ?«»  p»i  nfo  tli      -ndn  «»f  ffa**  :  nor  was 

'hie     rospc  .         I  'lUi: 

comt'    On  Um'    u   i  buiidv  a 
there  was  a  v  .nsiiif  ibie  Ol»  iati:  r; 

-  (»i 

ii  t}0' 


a' 


m  as-' 
iipl) 


both  religiottx  a  n] 

jMISt'S  of  IU( 

girlH;  uui  iliu 
read  writ 
onlj  macl 

accocats,  iu  iviXi  >  Ur 
start. 

Now  howpvfi   when  w 
lisboK'i  >  of       uiar    t  \u 
7;itioi.   ai  d  J       v,  (li 
post In  whi 
iriv«'f       1  i  was  not 

ifL'ai.    to  it  t!  <'n' 


■ ars  to 
iiaracter 
a  prin?, 
or  I  ^- 
all  i  • 
ttiui  utue  euu 
*H,  therefore,  not 
lor  tlii'iii  on  other 
>se  character  from  the 


iii> 
'.I 
it 


«'ere  mrived  at  the  estab- 

witli  a  pmuauent  organi- 
tion  cuald  no  longer  be 
■ag    >hiril  instruction  be 
v  qu.    ion  to  decide.  With 
ue  of  opinion  among  the 
ud     w.   On  the  one  hand,  it 
^'me*    an  was  a  L&o  mission,  the  Lfio 
I"     iO  laiiiTuage  of  the  schools.  On 
jioiiited  out  the  greater  scope  and 
■^ianH-ie,  its  assured  supreu  a-},  and 
>  *■  the  Lao  throaghout  the  terri- 
'oi         sHi  at  iast  was  compromised  by 

conn  Miiui.    le  a  the  Girls'  School,  and  adopt- 

lD;r  the  Liio  for  tW  tjf^> 
Seaatime  it  wa»  desirabie  to  have  some  portions  of 


yii*^.  til 
Co 
aii. 


iUt' 


224  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


the  Scriptures  in  tlie  Lao  character;  and,  to  accomplish 
this,  the  first  requisite  was  a  font  of  Lao  type.  To  this 
end,  on  my  first  furlough  in  1873,  I  went  from  North 
Carolina  to  New  York,  and  not  only  spen.";  some  time, 
but  was  at  some  personal  expense,  in  the  effort  to  se- 
cure such  a  font.  The  American  Bible  Society  voted 
a  liberal  sum  for  the  puii)ose.  Hut  there  tamed  out 
to  be  some  mechanical  diflBculties  to  be  overcome  in 
maliing  and  using  the  type,  which  were  beyond  my 
skill  to  solve.  So,  lest  the  attempt  should  fail  in  my 
bands,  I  gave  it  up.  And  having  accomplished  nothing, 
I  presented  no  bill  of  expense  either  to  the  Bible  So- 
ciety or  to  the  Board. 

There  seemed,  indeed,  to  be  some  fatality  ::ttending 
onr  efforts  in  this  direction.  Mr.  Wilson,  on  the  fur- 
lough from  which  he  was  but  now  returned,  had  gone 
further.  He  actually  succeected  in  getting  a  font  of 
Lao  type.  But  the  whole  of  it  was  lost,  and  never 
reached  the  mission.'  It  was  not  until  Dr.  Peoples' 
furlough  in  1889  that  we  succeeded  iu  getting  our  pres- 
ent type.  Meanwhile  we  bad  nsed  the  Siamese  Scrip- 
tures, with  some  present  disadvantages,  indeed,  but  with 
some  advantages  as  well.  Some  of  our  first  Christians 
were  attracted  to  our  religion  by  their  desire  to  learn 
Siamese;  and  the  Siamese  Bible  and  catechism  were 
our  textbooks.  And  now,  under  Siamese  rule,  knowl- 
edge of  the  Siamese  opens  the  way  to  promotion  in  the 
government  service.   Siamese  alone  is  taught  in  the 

'Mr.  Wilson  brought  only  a  few  spoclmeiia  with  him.  Ha 
writes :— •'  The  rei«  of  the  typ«  wu  to  be  boied  up  tad  lent  to  Mr. 

Cutter,  and  the  boxes  were  to  be  put  away  In  the  store-room  of  the 
Mission  Rooms  at  28  Centre  Sjtrti-t,  and  forwarded  when  called  for. 
Thiy  must  have  been  lost  wht  n  the  Board  moved  from  88  Centie 
Street  to  the  Lenox  property,  and  then  to  156  Fifth  Avenue. 


SCHOOLS— T hi:  nine  YEARS'  WANDERER  225 


government  schools.  Young  monks  are  more  eager  to 
study  Siamese  than  their  own  tongue. 

But  the  important  thing,  after  all,  wag  that  we  had 
a  school  actually  begun,  and  that  there  was  teaching 
in  both  dialects.  It  was  like  a  new  beginning  of  our 
wori^  under  conditions  more  favourable  than  at  the 
first.  For  twelve  years  it  had  been  a  hard,  and,  some- 
times, an  apparently  hopeless  struggle.  Hut  the  his- 
tory of  missions  affords  many  similar  instances  with 
even  fewer  visible  restilts.  In  twelve  years  we  had 
gathered  forty  converts  into  the  church.  Some  of  these 
were  among  the  most  useful  we  have  ever  had  in  the 
history  of  the  mission.  It  is  hard  to  estimate  rightly 
the  importance  of  work  spent  on  the  foundations  of 
snch  an  enterprise.  ?  ;;t  now,  with  that  church  or- 
ganized, with  the  medical  work  well  established,  the 
evangelistic  woi^  strengthened,  and  the  initial  school, 
begun  long  before  by  Mrs.  McQilvary,  placed  on  a  per- 
manent basis,  we  could  write  in  large  letters  on  onr 
altar,  "  Jehovah-Nissi  " — Jehovah  our  banner. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  year,  1879,  twelve  more 
persons  were  gathered  into  the  church.  One  of  them 
was  Pa  Sdng  Bun,  the  poor  woman  accused  of  witch- 
craft, who,  with  so  much  dilBcnlty,  was  saved  from 
her  persecutors.  Another  was  ilfm  C,  who  was  a 
daily  visitor  when  we  were  here  on  our  first  tour  of 
exploration.  And  another  was  our  own  dear  little 
Margaret.  Somewhat  later  there  came  to  our  notice 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  incidents  in  the 
chequered  history  of  our  mission.  One  morning,  on 
returning  from  my  work  in  the  city,  I  was  told  that 
a  man  had  been  waiting  to  see  me,  and  was  then  talk- 
ing to  Nan  Inta.   Stepping  down  to  the  house,  where 


226  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

a  number  of  persons  hml  collected.  I  saw  a  handsome 
man  of  medium  height,  buf  of  .stiikiuf,'  fi-ure.  larger 
and  more  portl.v  than  is  usual  among  the  Lao,  and 
thirty  three  years  old,  as  I  learned. 
'  ^'^^       fof"  <'>J'^  ^vas  tlie  strangers  name,  said  that 

not  long  after  our  lirst  arrival  in  Cliiengmai,  while  he 
was  yet  a  monk  in  the  king  s  mouaslerv,  he  had  vis- 
ited me,  and  was  struck  with  those  points  in  the  teach- 
ings of  Christianity  wliich  diflerentiate  it  from 
Buddhism.  Ue  received  a  copy  of  the  Gosjit.!  of  Mat 
*hew  in  Siamese,  learned  a  few  verses,  and  took  the 
"  ^^^'^  ''^n^e  with  him  to  the  monastery.  Afterwards 

^  he  visited  me  occasionally  t(,  tiiko  a  fiw  fui  (hor  les- 

I  sons  in  it.   He  was  a  prot^gr^  of  Prince  Kav.  ilorot,  who 

]  paid  the  expenses  of  his  entering  the  monastic  order 

i  He  thus  became  the  Prince's  "  Luk  keo  "  >  (jeiccl  son) 

;  in  effect  his  adopted  son.    Not  long  after  this  he  left 

I  the  priesthood,  married,  and  settled  out  in  the  couu- 

I  paid  us  a  few  visits  from  time  to  time, 

always,  as  he  said,  to  talk  on  religion  and  to  study 
Siamese. 

When  the  order  for  the  mnrder  of  the  Christians  was 
j  given,  a  monk  who  was  a  friend  (.f  bis  met  him  in  the 

;  streets,  and  asked  whether  he  know  that  bis  bouse  was 

to  be  bnmed  over  his  head,  explaining  that  the  i'rince 
had  nourished  him  as  a  son,  and  now  he  had  apostatized 
and  joined  the  foreign  religion.  Advising  him  (o  con- 
sider well  and  quickly,  the  priest  hurried  .»n.  So  it  bad 
become  known  in  the  palace  that  he  was  visiting  us 
and  studying  the  Jesus  religion.  There  was  no  time 
to  be  lost,  not  even  io  bid  good  bye  to  bis  voung  wife 
On  that  eventful  Saturday  afternoon,  just  before  the 
>  A  dedgnation  whose  nearest  paraUel  in  English  la,  perbapg.  god- 


ton. 


SCHOOLS— THE  NINE  YEARS'  WANDERER  227 

flight  of  our  servants,  he  stopped  at  our  door;  but  see- 
ing no  one,  he  hastened  on.  On  Sunday  he  secreted 
himself  in  a  deserted  monastery  near  the  mountains. 
Next  day  he  fell  in  with  a  company  of  traders,  going 
to  Ohieng  RSi,  six  days'  journey  to  the  north,  and 
travelled  with  them  without  making  known  what  his 
errand  was.  At  Ciiieuf,'  Kfii  he  learned  that  the  Chris- 
tians were  put  to  death  the  day  after  he  left.  He  was 
still  within  the  Lao  realm,  and  might  be  arrested.  He 
made  his  way,  therefore,  to  Keng  Tung,  in  Burmese 
territory,  ten  or  fifteen  days'  journey  still  further  to 
the  north. 

After  remaining  there  some  three  years,  he  returned 
to  Chieng  Rai,  where  he  heard  of  the  death  of 
KawilOrot  and  the  accession  of  Trince  Intanon.  Still 
in  fear,  he  pat»ed  through  the  towns  to  the  east  of 
Chiengmai,  venturing  even  as  near  as  Lakawn.  Then 
crossing  the  m  Ping  valley  to  the  south  of  Chiengmai, 
he  went  beyond  the  Sal  win  into  Burma,  stopping 
awhile  among  the  Bed  Kar»ns,  and  then  going  on  to 
llaulmein.  Seeing  there  a  foreigner's  house,  he  en- 
quired if  anything  was  known  concerning  the  mis- 
sionaries in  Zimme  (Chiengmai).  Nothing  was  known 
of  them.  Returning  again  to  Siamese  territory,  he 
went  to  Raheng,  thinking  that  he  would  go  on  to 
Bangkok.  There,  however,  he  was  told  that  the  mis- 
sionaries had  gone  back  to  the  United  States—in- 
formation baaed,  no  doabt,  on  our  departure  on  fur- 
lough. 

During  bis  lo"g  wanderings  he  had  made  friends  as 
he  could,  anr  ^   ipport  hinwelf  had  sometimes  turned 

peddler.  Iii  .aste  of  his  flight  from  home  he  had 
taken  nothing  »,ith  him  except  his  copy  of  the  Gospel 
of  Matthew  in  Siamese.  He  could  not  read  it  well,  but 


22^  AMOXG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
he  kept  it  as  a  kind  of  talisman  till  it  ^ 
-orn.    Ho  had  learned  to  pZ  ^'Jl  J"" 

return  <il]  he  heard  of  fhl  L-  ^ ^® 
'^garded  it       a  Zt^  J^'l^^^^^  He 
Btrange  to  say  haj  nlT;    P'-ov'-denr.  that  his  wife, 

ar^erls  Hir^tt'frnr;;^:^^^  a'r  ^'^^•"^  '"^^^ 

<lesire  was       uud.s.and   .  I  th^t  tr 

Gospel  of  Matthew    /  "    '         *  ^^^^^  ^8 

spared  and  kent  for  1  •'"^""^ 

P-od.    slnJri  .'^rr^^-t'--    And  so  it 

a  fine  l^uddhist  sch^ar  T  ''''''  ^«  '^^^ 

«o  that  I  miJh  hat  h      ""''''''■"^  *«'«^her. 

tory  interested  and  attraotro'he«  k  ''t 

member,  as  a  ruling  elder  and  If t  ^ 
dained  minister,  he  was  a  Zl  «°  o^ 

the  Ca.v  when  he  was  Taken  r    iJ""  ''•"^^'^ 
Gospel  from  hi!  Z  "nd    ^'   ^honsands  heard  the 

~  h.  hVii?: -r  th??!^^^^^^ 

things  which  alarmed  Kawilr.rot    If  la  u^^^ 
acute  attack  of  pneumonia  made  a 


SCHOOLS— THE  NINE  YEAKS'  WANDERER  229 

longer  stay  in  the  country  impogsible.   My  dangbter 

Cornelia  was  taken  ill  at  the  same  tinuj  So,  witli 
but  little  preitaiati(jn,  on  DecemlK^r  2Stl(,  187!),  both 
mother  and  daiij^hter  were  carried  iu  chairs  to  the 
boat,  and  we  iiassleued  out  of  the  country.  Stopping 
in  Bangkok  only  a  few  days,  we  embarked  for  Hong- 
kong. We  met  the  Cliiua  Sea  in  its  worst  mood.  For 
three  days  and  nights  we  did  not  see  the  captain's  face ; 
neither  did  he  see  sun,  moon,  or  stars  in  that  most 
dangerous  tract  of  the  sea.  The  skylight  was  fastened 
down,  for  the  waves  swept  the  vessel  from  stem  to 
atem.  We  were  good  sailors;  but  we  could  not  but 
pity  the  one  hundied  and  twenty  Chinese  steerage 
passengers,  allowed  ou  deck  only  a  few  moments  twite 
a  day  for  a  breath  of  air,  after  which  Ihey  had  almost 
to  be  forced  back  into  their  hole  again.  There  was 
withal  just  enough  of  the  spice  of  danger  to  make  the 
sight  of  Victoria  Peak  at  last  doubly  welcome. 

By  this  time  my  family  were  all  so  much  improved 
by  the  journey  that  there  was  question  whether  1 
should  proceed  with  them,  or  should  return  to  Chieng- 
niai  for  another  year's  work.  It  was  evident  that,  in 
order  to  regain  her  strength,  Mrs.  McGilvary  would 
require  a  longer  stay  in  the  United  States  tijau  one 
year.  I  could  neither  spare  the  time  for  so  long  a 
furlough  for  tuyself,  nor  could  I  expect  the  Board  to 
grant  it.  The  (juestion  was  not  an  easy  one;  but  we 
decided  at  last  that  my  wife  and  children  should  con- 
tinue their  journey  to  the  United  States,  and  that  I 
should  return  to  Cliiengmai  alone. 

During  my  few  days'  stay  in  Bangkok,  through  the 
kindness  of  our  Consul,  I  had  an  audience  with  His 
Ma^ty  the  King.   I  desired  to  express  to  him  in 


230  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


person  uiy  tliankH  for  the  Edict  of  Toleration.  After 
some  ivnarks  addressed  to  A»  other  i^tlemen  pres- 
ent, the  KinR  asked  me  if  I  were  not,  duriiij^  IIh*  previ- 
ous month,  the  bearer  of  despat«  heK  from  his  ^  oinnii.s- 
sioner  in  the  Nortli — showing  that  he  did  not  >verlo4>k 
small  matters,  as  a  king  mi|^  he  expected  t»  do.  Re 
enquired  how  T  liked  the  Coiiiniissionfr,  w  :  iier  1 
preached  in  Siamese  or  in  Lao,  iiuw  many  converts 
we  had,  etc.,  etc.    It  was  a  very  pleasant  inter- 

As  I  iisoeiided  tlie  river,  if  became  plain  liiat  the 
water  was  too  low  to  permit  the  latter  stage  of  the 
trip  to  be  Bade  in  my  large  boat.  At  (>hiengmai  I 
should  iiud  a  bouse,  but  not  a  home.  Hefore  I  could 
reach  it,  the  touring  season  would  be  nearly  over. 
The  thought  of  stopping  a  season  for  W(irk  at  Kahtog 
strack  me  favourably.  The  more  I  considered  it,  the 
more  attractive  it  became.  To  be  sui-e.  1  bad  not  s«;- 
Gured  the  sanction  of  the  mission  to  that  particular 
enterprise;  but  I  had  always  been  allowed  to  choose 
my  own  touring  ground.  An  otticer.  Sen  r'tamri,  of- 
fered me  a  site  for  a  bamboo  bouse  gratis;  and  before 
I  had  announced  my  final  decision,  be  and  others  be- 
gan to  cut  bamboo  on  it  to  build  the  house.  I  had 
asked  for  guidance,  and  the  question  seemed  to  settle 
itself. 

I  cannot  dwell  on  the  interesting  six  months  of  the 
year  1880  spent  there.  Sen  Utauja  was  interested 
from  the  first.  liy  aflliction  be  biid  been  wonderfully 
prepared  for,  and  seemed  to  be  waiting  for,  the  very 
consolation  that  the  Gospel  offered  him.  An  ez-taz- 
collector.  a  (Miines«'  i-f  some  influence,  was  in  the  same 
state  of  mind,  and  soon  joined  the  other  as  an  en- 
quirer.   My  student,  Noi  lutacbak,  entered  heartily 


KCnoOLS— THE  NIXK  YICAKS'  WANDEIIKR 


into  the  work.  So(*n,  with  niv  cook  iind  boy.  we  had 
the  nucleus  of  quite  an  interesting  congregation  who 
attended  worship  twice  a  day.  It  was  a  delight  to 

teach  them. 

The  case  of  the  Chinese  was  deeply  interesting.  He 
believed  the  Gcspel  plan  of  salvation,  and  was  deeply 
anxious  to  be  saved  from  his  sin  and  its  pnnishment. 
Rut  there  was  one  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his 
making  an  open  profession — he  had  two  wives.  The 
real  wife — the  one  he  had  formally  married — was  child- 
less. Tlio  one  he  had  bought  was  younger,  and  had  two 
lovable  little  children,  both  girls.  I  recall  almost  with 
tears  the  burning  questionings  we  had  over  that  situa- 
tion. He  seemed  willing  to  make  any  self-sacrifioe  that 
duty  required.  Hut  what  was  duty?  Should  he  di- 
vorce one  of  them?  If  so,  which  one?  "  Of  course,  he 
must  keep  the  real  one,"  you  will  say.  But  what  of 
the  young  mother  and  the  helpless  babes?  Hie  very 
mention  of  their  being  turned  adrift,  even  with  a 
dower,  had  produced  a  scene  in  the  family.  The 
poor  woman  felt  quite  unable  to  care  for  the  children 
alone.  The  children  were  his  children.  It  might  easily 
have  been  the  ruin  both  of  mother  and  babes  to  put 
her  aw.iy.  My  heart  was  not  hard  enough  to  advise 
that.  Surely  the  man  had  not  cut  himself  off  from 
the  hope  of  salvation  by  Iiis  past— by  an  error  or  sin  of 
ignorance.  The  conditions  of  church-membership  are 
faith  and  repentance.  The  sacraments  of  the  church 
are  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Shall  we  offer  a 
man  the  pardon  of  hh-  nin  without  its  sacramental 
seals? — the  glorious  hope  of  endless  fellowship  in 
heaven,  but  not  the  communion  of  saints  on  earth? 
A  precisely  parallel  case  I  had  met  before  in  the  per- 
son of  a  native  doctor  at  Mtiang  Awo.  "  What  then," 


232  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


the  reader  will  ask,  "  did  you  do?  "  Why,  in  each  case 
I  just  (lid  IK. thing.  I  followed  the  letter  of  the  law, 
and  baptized  neither  one.  But  "  the  letter  killeth;  the 
spirit  nialioth  alive." 

In  doe  time  8*n  Utamfi  and  a  nephew  of  the  Chinese 
woro  baptized.  An  interesting  tour  was  made  up  the 
river.  Kut  tJie  station  in  (niiengniai  was  feeling  the 
pressure  of  the  growing  worlc.  In  July,  1880,  the 
church  of  Bethlehem  was  organized,  and  there  were 
proniisinfi  ()i)oninf;s  in  (ither  districts.  It  was  evident 
that  the  IJoard  was  not  in  a  condition  to  consider  a 
permanent  station  in  Rahteg.  It  would  have  been  an 
interesting  field  for  permanent  occupation;  but  for 
temporary  work,  I  had  Imm  there  as  long  a  time  88 
we  could  atlord  t(t  spend  in  one  place. 

Jost  then  Praya  SThanat— the  officer  from  Lakawn 
who,  two  vears  iHjfore,  had  greeted  me  with  "  Eph- 
phatha  "—invited  me  to  return  with  him.  His  ears 
were  not  opened,  but  his  heart  was.  Ue  had  taught  the 
Christian  faith  to  his  wife  and  children  and  a  few 
others,  nnd  among  these  was  a  fellow  ex-offlcer.  He 
wished  with  them  (o  receive  further  and  fuller  instruc- 
tion, and  to  be  taken  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church. 
Without  waiting  to  ascertain  whether  I  could  go,  he 
was  come  with  a  boat  to  bring  me.  This  seemed 
to  me  the  guiding  hand  of  providence,  and  I  fol- 
lowed it. 

Since  a  single  boat  cannot  a.^cend  the  rapids  with- 
out the  help  of  another  boat's  crew,  we  made  arrange- 
ment., to  join  forces  with  another  party,  and  maL.^. 
the  trip  together.  The  night  before  we  were  to  start, 
the  river,  w'  it  h  had  been  stoadil.v  rising,  became  a  flood 
so  strong  that  my  host  dared  not  face  it  in  his  small 
craft.  Our  companions,  however,  did  not  wait  for  na, 


HCIIOOLS— THE  NINE  YEAKS'  WANDEKEH  2.'}3 


but  went  on  us  they  bad  plunned.  We  waited  ten 
days  for  another  party,  as  well  as  for  the  river  to  go 
duwn.  Imagine  my  sensatioDs,  tlien,  when,  presently, 
we  learned  that  the  captain  and  owucr  of  tlie  principal 
boat  in  the  flotilla  with  which  we  had  planned  to  make 
the  trip,  was  shot  and  killed,  and  his  boat  was 
plundered!  A  band  (»f  dacoits  secreted  themselves  be- 
hind a  cluster  of  trees  where  the  channel  runs  close 
to  the  bank,  shot  the  steersman  at  his  oar,  and  then  had 
the  boat  at  their  mercy.  Since  all  foreigners  are  sup- 
posed to  carry  money,  the  attack  may  well  have  been 
inten^led  for  me.  Earlier  in  that  same  year,  while 
returning  alone  to  Rahtog,  I  came  near  being  en- 
trapped by  a  similar  band. 

The  visit  to  Lakawn  was  interesting  and  profitable. 
Ten  days  were  spent  with  the  new  converts.  While 
my  friend,  the  Prayil,  had  been  busy,  the  devil  had  not 
been  idle.  One  of  the  princes  had  threatened  to  have 
one  of  his  head  men  flogged  if  be  joined  the  Christians. 
Bnt  before  we  teft,  a  chnrch  was  organized,  with  Prayft 
SIhanfit  as  elder. 

From  Lakawn  I  took  elephants  to  Chiengraai,  and 
spent  the  last  Sunday  of  my  trip  with  Nun  Inta  and 
the  newly  organized  chnrch  of  Bethlehem,  named  after 
Mr.  Wilson's  old  church  in  Pennsylvania.  Nan  Inta 
was  waiting  for  me  where  the  road  to  bis  village  turned 
off  from  the  main  route.  On  Christmas  day  following 
this,  Mr.  Wilson,  Dr.  Cheek,  and  Miss  Cole  organized 
yet  another  church  at  M^  Dawk  Deng,  where  Nan  Su- 
wan  had  been  doing  faithful  work.  In  both  these  cases 
the  persecution  for  supposed  witchcraft  had  furnished 
a  good  nucleus  for  the  church,  which  thereafter  the 
Edict  of  Toleration  protected  from  expulsion. 

All  the  departments  of  our  work.,  medical,  educa- 


234  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TUE  LAO 

tionil,  eviinRt'listii',  wen-  prosiwrlng.  Nfin  Tft,  the 
loUK  tiiiu'  wanderer,  wti.s  beiouiiug  a  power  second  only 
to  Nun  Juta,  and  destined  ultimately  to  8urpa88  him. 
Like  him,  he  waH  a  man  of  tliie  uddremi  and  bearing, 
and  aK'X'd  Mudilliist  sdioliir;  l>iit  lie  was  tiiurli  younfjcr. 
lieing,  moreover,  tlie  sun  of  a  I'ravfi -tlie  liigliest  grade 
of  L&o  ofBcer»— be  bad  an  influence  with  the  nobility 
sut'h  as  no  other  of  our  Christians  liad.  In  the  clnin  li 
he  l)egan  to  show  a  capat  it.v  nnd  jiower  sach  as  prob- 
ably no  ot!ier  person  has  exercised. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Wilson  was  working  on  plans  for  a 
building  for  the  *)\vW  High  School.  Already  the 
school  numbered  forty-two  pupils,  but  with  no  place 
in  which  to  teach  them  save  the  teacher's  house.  The 
season  had  been  very  hard  od  Miss  Campbell's  health. 
She  was  very  yuun^,  nud  had  come  direct  to  ('liicnf^- 
mai  from  the  seminary  without  any  period  of  rest,  and 
with  a  constitution  by  no  means  robust.  The  mission 
voted  her  a  trip  to  Haugk<»li  for  rest.  Little  did  we 
think  when  we  bade  her  good-bye  that  we  should  see 
her  face  no  more. 

Financially  for  me  the  year  had  been  the  hardest 
in  my  life.  With  all  the  econoinv  we  could  use — and 
we  did  not  spend  a  useless  [)enny — it  seemed  impossible 
for  me  to  keep  my  fauiily  going.  When  we  left  Ghieag- 
mai  we  had  overdrawn  onr  salary,  and  the  amount  had 
to  be  made  up  that  year.  This  condition  was  one  of 
the  straws  that  helped  to  determine  me  to  stop  over 
in  Bahtog.  I  could  live  more  cheaply  there;  in  fact, 
conld  hardly  spend  money  there  if  I  wished  to.  In 
only  one  matter  had  I  been  greatly  disappointed  in 
Kah^ng ;  I  hoped  to  be  in  somewhat  closer  commnnica- 
tion  with  my  family,  about  whom  I  still  felt  some 
anxiety.  I  wm,  indeed,  nearer  them  in  space,  but  it 


KCUOOLS— TlIK  NINE  VICAUS'  W  ANIHIKEK  UlC. 

j.n.vel  iinnli  I'nrtlicr  in  time.  The  lin-ROst  mail  of  the 
^vi'ur  imssed  on  up  to  Chiengumi,  and  was  sent  back, 
reaching  Rahtog  jnat  after  I  bad  left  the  place.  It 
flnnlly  i  t-ached  me  in  CUengmai  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year  188U! 


XXI 


SECOND  FURLOUGH 

MY  ho.iltli  lintl  hpen  such  tliut  I  hoped  I  might 
mU'\\  fiueg(.  my  furlough,  and  have  my  wife 
and  our  yoongeiit  child  return  to  (^hiengmai 
alone.  .Mv  wife,  iifu-r  tin«lin};  a  liome  for  a  while  with 
hpr  bn.tlM  I,  I'rolesHor  Bradley,  in  Oakland,  had  gone 
on  in  the  npriu},'  to  North  Carolina.  Bnt  Rhe  waa  not 
gaining  much  in  streugtL.  and  plainly  retjuircil  another 
year.  My  own  heultli  was  U(»t  s(»  jjood  as  it  was  at 
the  hegiuuing  of  t'  .•  year.  Ceitaiu  nymptoms  gave  lue 
anxiety,  and  decided  me  to  delay  my  own  furloui^ 
no  lunger.  If  it  wuh  lu  In-  taken  at  all,  the  sooiior  the 
Ix'tter.  Ho  ou  March  l-'ih,  1881,  I  started  for  the 
United  States.  The  furlough  which  was  now  begin- 
ning ended  twenty-three  yeara  of  iier?ice  in  the  general 
Held  of  Siani.  and  fourft'cn  vctus  spent  among  the  Lao. 

I  had  proceeded  down  the  river  but  a  few  days,  when 
a  passing  Iwat  brought  the  astounding  intelligoice  of 
the  tragic  deitlli  of  our  esteeuietl  and  youngest  co- 
labourer.  Miss  Mary  Caiiipbell,  Wliat  words  can  ex- 
press the  shock  I  received!  The  uew.s  was  confirmed 
a  few  days  later  by  Dr.  Cheek,  whom  I  met  on  the 
river.  At  this  distance  it  is  unnecessary  tn  enlarge 
on  the  particulars  of  the  sad  catastrophe.  Indeed,  it 
was  all  so  sudden  that  there  were  few  particulars  to 
relate.  Dr.  Cheek  had  gone  down  to  Bangkok  on 
business  soon  after  Miss  f 'ampbell  left  n«.  and  now  was 

2S« 


returning  with  Miw*  ('lunplicU  under  his  twort.  A( 
the  e\tm  of  a  hot  day'*  run,  the  boatH  !n.y  inoctrpd  by 
a  aand-bar  for  the  night.  Tlicy  hntl  liail  Ihoir  cvrninn 
iiu'iil  and  worship  togothor.  in-,  riu-ok  hait  tnkon  his 
bath  in  tii«  river,  bud  (.'xuiuineu  the  bur,  und  notttled 
Mim  Campbell  ho-v  far  it  wan  safe  to  venture  In 
taking  here.  But  .omchow  nIk'  '  titmed  out  too  far 
—  to  a  depth  from  wliich  only  anjjelic  arms  could  re- 
ceive her  to  a  shore  where  there  is  no  more  death. 

The  brave  effort  of  her  L&o  maid,  Kam  Tip,  and  Dr. 
Chct  k's  nnsiicics  f  s'  ciii  li  till  lonj;  after  life  nnist 
have  iKcn  extinct,  were  well  known  at  the  lime.  8he 
bad  ;  t  juat  come  to  her  choaen  field  of  work,  in  the 
bloom  of  youth  and  in  the  full  ardour  of  her  first  con- 
vo('rati(»n,  little  thinkiUR  that  her  work  was  to  b<'  so 
hoon  and  so  sadly  closed.  Uer  last  written  words  to 
a  friend,  with  the  ink  on  them  scarcely  dry  before  her 
death,  were:  "  Bn*  :  am  not  !  for  I  l  ave  found  in 
ny  dear  Lao  girls,  Bftk  .  ^ydiu  Tip,  and  in  Nan  TS, 
my  teacher,  more  company  .  '  ever  expected.  1 
wish  I  could  Iced  them  to  .  ♦  -  '  >  n  •enough  for  yon  to 
know  than." 

It  will  be  evident  to  all  that  in  1^1  the  work  in  • 
force  of  the  mission  was  entirely  inadetpiate  r«)r  ot 
cnpvins  and  cultivating  lli<>  broad  and  inviting  field, 
now  opened  to  us  an  never  liefore.  The  medical  wark, 
constantly  enlarging,  occupied  tbf  physician's  whole 
time.  Mr.  Wilson's  physical  <  .  .iition,  never  very 
!-tn>T)fr.  confined  hln  labours  to  the  station  and  its 
inimediate  vicinity.  The  attention  which  these  alone 
required  would  more  than  fill  one  maa's  time.  The 
death  of  Miss  Campbell  niado  iirii-crative  "  associate 
for  Miss  Cole.   So,  even  if  the  trip  to  ilie  United 


238  AM().\(J  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


Stales  had  not  been  rendereii  iniporative  by  considora- 
tions  of  my  own  health,  the  best  interests  of  the  work 
itself  seemed  to  demand  that  soine  one  shoald  go  to 
8eek  reinforcement  by  direct  and  personal  appeal  to 
the  church  at  home. 

As  'or  Mrs.  McGilvary,  after  si^nding  the  spring 
of  1880  with  her  brother  in  Oakland,  California,  she 
came  on  with  our  younper  s(»n  to  Stutesville,  Nort'i 
Carolina,  where  she  could  be  with  our  daughters,  and 
not  far  from  nor  elder  uon  in  Davidson  College. 

On  my  arrival  in  New  York,  1  hastened  on  at  once 
to  North  Caroliua,  where  1  sjient  tlie  summer  with 
my  family  and  friends,  lecturing  from  time  to  time  in 
the  chnrcbes.  The  fall  of  this  year  I  spent  in  Texas 
and  Arkansas,  visitinp  relatives  and  friends  who  liad 
migrated  thither  from  the  family  nest  in  North  Caro- 
lina. In  Texas  I  attended  the  meeting  of  the  South- 
ern Synod,  and  both  there  and  elsewhere  I  found  many 
opportunities  for  pi-esenting  the  ciuse  of  foreign  mis- 
8ioni<;  and  everywhere  I  encountered  v.arm  reception 
and  eager  interest  in  the  work  among  the  L&o.  In  the 
winter  I  came  nortli  to  visit  tl  •  Theological  Sem- 
inaries, and  to  enlist  men  for  the  Lao  mission.  On 
my  way  1  stiipiied  in  Oxford,  Ohio,  where  1  met  Miss 
Lizzie  Westervelt  (afterward  Mrs.  Stanley  K. 
Phraner),  then  in  her  senior  year  in  Miss  Peabody's 
Seminary,  and  preparing  for  missionary  work  among 
the  Lfto,  upon  which  she  entered  in  the  following  year. 
This  was  the  sciiool  which  had  givm  ns  Mim  Mary 
Campbell  and  Miss  I^lna  Cole  a  few  years  before. 

While  waiting  for  the  Theological  Seminaries  to  re- 
open after  the  Christmas  recess,  I  was  tie  guest  of 
my  wife's  cousins  at  Castletcm  Corners,  Staten  Island. 
There  I  had  the  very  pleasant  experience  of  observing 


SECOND  FUHLorciH  239 

"Watch  Night"  with  tlie  Moravian  Church,  of  which 
my  friaida  were  aembera.  They  called  on  the  Lao 

missir.naiy  for  an  account  of  his  experience  in  the  field. 
In  that,  of  course,  there  was  nothing  remarkable.  But 
near  the  cloae  of  the  next  year,  when  writing  to  the 
fanjily,  I  allnded  to  the  pleasant  memory  of  Watch 
Night  and  sent  my  greetings  to  the  church  with  a  re- 
quest to  be  remembered  in  their  prayei-s.    Instead  of 
giving  my  message  yerlwlly,  my  friends  read  the  letter 
II. self,  and  it  seemed  to  be  appreciated.   The  imit  was 
that  the  Lao  letter  came  to  be  looked  for  regularly  as  a 
part  of  the  watch  service,  and  one  was  sent  to  them 
every  year— if  I  were  on  the  field— for  seventeen  years. 
It  was  a  comfort  to  know  that  special  juayer  was  al- 
ways offercHl  for  us  by  that  great  missionary  church 
as  the  old  year  was  dying,  and  the  new  year  was  com- 
ing in. 

The  Professors  at  Princeton,  Union,  and  Allegheny 
all  gave  their  cordial  endorsement  and  aid  to  me  in 
my  efforts  to  secure  men.   *•  We  want  you  to  get  our 
best  men,"  they  said,  and  the  Lord  gave  them  to  ns. 
From  I'rinceton  came  Chalmers  Martin  of  the  senior 
class.    He  had  been  chosen,  however,  for  the  Hebrew 
Fellowship,  and  was,  therefore,  delayed  a  year  before 
entering  npon  his  missionary  work.    Though  his  career 
in  the  Lfto  field  was  a  8h(»rt  one,  he  left  a  lasting 
mait  there,  as  we  shall  see.   Allegheny  gave  us  Rev. 
K  c.  Peoples.  M.I).,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Rer.  J.  H. 
Hearst.    Dr.   Peoples'  how  still  abides  in  strength. 
His  double  preparation  both  as  a  minister  and  as  a 
physician,  gave  him  nnasual  equipment  for  the  work 
be  has  a.coinpIi.shed.    Mr.  Hearst,  however,  soon  snc- 
cumlK'd  to  the  Chiengiiiai  clitnati'. 

Union  gave  us  that  couseciated  young  man,  Mc- 


240  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


Laren,  who  chose  the  great  city  of  Ban^ok— a  fitting 
field  for  him,  since  his  broad  sympathies  were  bounded 
by  no  one  race  >r  people.  His  career  also  was  cut 
sliort  witliiu  a  few  uionlbs  by  cboleia,  c«mtracted  while 
ministering  to  dying  seamen  in  the  hai^oaor  Coring  a 
severe  epidemic  of  the  disease. 

The  Northwestern  Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions was  then,  as  it  has  been  since,  a  great  centre  of 
missionary  euthusiasui.  It  bad  sent  out  Miss  ('ole  and 
Miss  Caiiipbell;  and  unw  tiie  sudden  death  of  tlic  la! 
ter  had  <aused  its  interest  and  that  of  the  Chicago 
ehnrches  to  concentrate  npon  the  Ltio  mission.  It  was 
to  this  combination  of  tinuinslanccs  that  I  was  in- 
debted for  an  invitation  to  attend  its  Annual  Meeting 
in  Minneapolis,  and  to  s|jeali  there.  Then  the  appoint- 
ment of  Dr.  L.  E.  Wishard's  daughter  (afterwards  Mrs. 
l>r.  Fulton  of  rant(»n,  (Miiua),  and  that  of  Miss  Sadie 
Wirt  (Mrs.  Dr.  fcs.  C.  I'eoples),  from  his  church  in 
Chicago,  gave  me  a  pleasant  visit  in  the  Doctor's  fam- 
ily both  as  I  went  up  to  Minneapolis  and  as  I  re- 
turned. On  a  Siindiiy  at  Lake  Forest,  between  the 
Sunday  School,  the  I  niversity,  tlie  Ladies'  Seminary, 
and  the  church,  the  Lao  Mission  had  four  bearings. 
At  Minneapolis  we  learned  tliiit  Miss  Warner  from  the 
Northwestern  Woman's  I'.oard.  and  Miss  Griffin  from 
the  Southwestern,  were  also  ajipointed  to  our  mission, 
and  Miss  Linneil  to  Lower  Siam.  This  completed  our 
number.  tlii>  larp-st  ri>iaforcement  the  mission  has  ever 
received  at  one  time. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Northwestern  Board, 
a  Sunday  was  s(.«'Ut  wilh  the  family  and  the  church  of 
Miss  Mar\  Canipitell  After  li;it,  appointments  with 
other  rhiirt  lies  tilled  up  uiy  time  till  the  nieelinj;  of  the 
Qeneral  AssemMy  is  Springfield,  Illinois,  which  I  at- 


SECOND  FURLOUGH 


241 


tended,  thoagh  not  as  a  delegate.  Our  Proshytcrr  of 
North  Laos  bad  not  then  been  organized,  <ind  Dr.  IC.  P. 
Dunlap  was  the  rcprospntiitivc  of  ilio  Proslntorv  of 
Siam.  At  that  meeting  it  m'iiu'<i  tu  nie  tluit  a  golden 
opportnnitj  was  miraed  for  drawing  together  in  a 
closer  union  the  Northem  and  tlic  Soutliern  branches 
of  the  Pri  sbvtoriiin  t'hiirch.  The  oiitconic  threw  tlie 
Southern  ihurtli,  nuah  more  weakened  by  the  war 
than  the  Northern,  on  its  own  resources.  In  profior- 
tion  to  its  financiiil  strcii'ith.  it  has  (h'Vt'1o])<'d  into  one 
of  the  Htrongest  missionary  cliurches  in  the  land,  both 
as  regards  the  home  worlc  and  the  foreign.  Meantime, 
with  the  growth  of  the  country  generally,  the  Northern 
Assembly  is  Ikti ming  too  unwieldy  a  bofly  for  its  best 
eflSciency.  1  believe  the  time  will  lomc  when  there 
will  be  three  Assemblies  rather  than  one,  with  a 
triennial  Assembly  of  all  on  a  basis  of  representation 
agreed  njion  by  the  three — somewliat  after  the  plan 
of  the  Method'st  and  the  Episcopal  chuiches;  or,  more 
nearly  still,  after  the  plan  of  the  Pan-Presbyterian 
Council. 

In  duties  and  pleasures  such  as  have  just  been  de- 
scribed, the  time  slipped  by  till  it  was  the  fith  of 
June.  1SS2,  before  I  again  reached  my  family  in  Slates 
ville.  We  were  to  start  Lfio  ward  almnt  the  middle  of 
July.  Sly  furlough  en<led  with  a  visit  to  my  old  charge 
at  Union,  to  attend  the  dedication  of  a  new  church 
there,  and  to  see  my  old  friends  once  more. 

We  began  to  gather  up  our  scattered  forces  at  Chi- 
cago, where  the  Fifth  Church  gave  to  its  pastor's 
daughter,  and  to  the  rest  of  us  there  present,  a  hearty 
farewell.  The  others  of  onr  liirge  party  j.iined  us  at 
dilierent  points  on  our  route  across  the  continent.  Dr. 
Eugene  P.  Dunlap  and  his  family,  also  returning  from 


242  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


furlough,  were  the  very  last  to  join  us,  just  in  time  to 
sail  with  us  from  San  Francisco. 

A  miBsionary's  vacation  is  very  delightful,  but  the 
last  day  of  it — tlie  day  that  brings  him  hark  to  his 
home  and  his  work — is  the  best  of  it  all.  Tho  small 
Bangkok  steamers  of  those  days  could  not  furnish  ac- 
commodation for  our  whole  party  at  once.  Some  of 
us  were,  therefore,  compelled  to  lie  over  at  Canton — 
a  circumstance  which  changed  the  ultimate  locution  of 
one  of  our  young  ladies  to  the  Canton  mission,  just  as 
a  previous  successor  to  Miss  Campbell  had  in  a  sim- 
ilar manner  been  changed  to  another  station  in  China. 
But  where  there  are  young  folks,  such  accidents  will 
happen. 

At  Bangkok  our  United  States  Consul,  Cioneral 
Partridge,  arranged  for  us  an  audience  witi;  the  King. 
His  Majesty  gave  us  a  cordial  reception,  espicssiug  his 
gratification  at  seeing  so  many  American  missionarim 
coming  to  his  country;  since  he  knew  that  they  came 
to  instruct  his  iieople,  and  to  make  them  more  in- 
telligent and  better  citizens. 

Reinforcements  surely  had  not  come  too  soon.  Dr. 
Wilson,  Mrs.  Cheek,  and  .Miss  Cole  were  the  only  mis- 
sionaries on  the  tield  when  we  i-eturned;  for  Dr.  Cheek 
was  absent  on  business.  It  was  now  four  years  since 
the  proclamation  of  religious  toleration;  and  for  the 
first  time  was  there  prospect  <.f  workers  enough  to  make 
any  use  of  the  advantages  it  oft'ered. 

But  had  we  relied  too  much  on  human  aid?  Were 
we  too  much  elated  in  view  of  our  present  numbers, 
with  Mr.  Martin  to  foilow  the  next  year?  After  a 
short  stay  in  Bangkok,  we  reached  Cbicngmai  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  those  violeni  epidemics  of  fever  by 
which  the  lAo  country  was  then,  perhaps,  more  fre- 


SECOND  FURLOUGH  243 

qiipntl.v  visilid  than  if  ig  now.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hearst 
and  Miss  ^^■arne^  were  Koon  prostrat<-d  with  tho  dis 
ease,  and  at  one  time,  out  «>f  ihe  wiiole  luission,  scarcely 
enough  were  left  to  care  for  the  sick.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hearst  soon  decided  to  ^ive  up  tlie  sfrup};le  and  with- 
draw from  tiie  field.  Miss  Warner  continued  lonRfr, 
but  ultimately  she,  too,  retired  with  broken  heaifh 
As  already  stated,  Mr.  McLaren  died  of  cholera  after 
a  few  hours'  Rickness  in  Hanfjkok.  (Jod  was  leaching 
us  that  it  is  not  by  nught  nor  by  power,  but  by  My 
Spirit,  saith  Jehovah." 

Soon  other  ( (niiplicalions  arose.  Smallpox  was 
brought  by  pupils  into  the  Girls'  School,  and,  to  our 
consternation,  Miss  Griffin  fell  a  victim.  She  had  been 
vaccinated  in  her  childhood,  but  was  not  revaccinated 
on  leavin<i  home— which  is  always  a  wise  precaution 
for  those  expecting  to  travel  or  to  live  in  the  East. 
Proper  measures  prevented  further  spread  of  the  dis- 
ease; md  though  our  patient  had  a  rather  hard  at- 
tack, yet  she  made  good  recovery. 

During  our  absence,  the  church  had  sustained  a  great 
loss  in  the  death  of  Nin  Inta,  our  first  convert  and  as- 
sistant. Hot  liis  works  d(»  follow  him,  and  his  life 
will  long  continue  to  be  a  precious  legacy  to  the  Lao 
church.  He  lived,  however,  until  others  were  ready  to 
take  his  place.  NHn  8!  Wichai,  who  long  had  been 
Dr.  Chej'k's  teacher,  was  a  stronj,'  character,  and  he  was 
ordained  as  au  elder.  Nfm  Ta,  also,  who  had  wandered 
so  far  and  so  long  after  the  persecution,  was  growing 
fo  le  a  power  in  the  church,  ami  afterwards  had  the 
honour  of  becoming  the  first  ordained  minister  amonff 
the  Lfto. 


XXII 


A  SUBVEYINO  EXPEDITION 

ON  the  26th  of  Febmar;?,  an  KrM  Indian 

apjH'art'd  on  nm-  vi  i.imlii  wiili  an  iiii(X|iftlrd 
nolc  from  rii.v  did  kik-sI  :m<l  I'nciiti,  iWv.  I>r.  .F. 
N.  Cushinj;  of  the  Aiiifiritan  HapliMl  Shan  Mission. 
The  stirprine  and  pleasnre  of  a  visit  from  him  and  Mrs. 
<'nsliiug  in  tin-  rarl.v  iiiid  loncsuinc  davs  of  ilir  iiii-siun 
iiavo  alivad.v  been  refirml  to.  Tlie  note  lold  us  iliat 
lie  was  now  connei  ted,  uh  interpreter,  with  a  unrvcv  iny 
expedition  under  0<»lt  8.  Hallett,  E8*|..  and  Uiai  the 
party  would  arrive  in  ( 'liii-nfrniai  on  the  luliowinn  day. 
The  railroad  fur  which  Mr.  llallelt  was  survey ing  a 
route  was  part  of  a  scheme,  then  on  foot,  to  baild  a 
road  fn»ni  .Manlinein  to  ( 'hicnfiniai,  thei-e  to  (oniict  t 
with  n  roiid  frtun  Hanfikok.  throiiyh  tiie  Lfto  country, 
to  ("itifuj?  Sen,  and,  if  successful,  to  l>e  continued  up 
to  Yunnan,  China.  For  some  reason  ♦he  scheme  was 
not  carried  out,  ttiil  the  prosiicct  of  ;inv  mud  to  cnnnoct 
our  iholated  field  with  ilie  outside  world  was  attractive 
to  us. 

The  party  arrived  ilie  next  day;  and  since  it  would 
lie  very  inionveiiieul  for  Mr.  Ilailell  t<;  he  separatwl 
from  Dr.  l  ushing,  we  foun«l  room  in  oui  house  for 
Mr.  Hallett  also,  and  had  a  fine  visit  with  both.  They 
soon  began  to  tempt  me  to  join  ilieii  expediti^m.  All 
*X('<  Hses  were  to  lie  paid.  They  'vere  not  to  travel  on 
tsunUay.    Their  intended  route,  through  the  towns  and 

344 


A  sL'KVi:viN<J  i:xri:i»iTH)N 


villagM  on  tho  wiiy  to  ('lii('n)>;  liai  :in<l  CliifiiK  S<*n,  aud 
southward  aguin  to  Lukuwu,  wuh  uvlt  gruund  1  wuh 
anxiom  to  travel  once  more.  The  trip  would  give  om 

:\  long  and  prulUablc  visit  witli  iiiv  rrii-iid,  Dr.  ('iishing. 
liut,  b(>HideH  all  iiersouul  cuiisiderutiuUM,  it  seemed 
right  to  give  a  little  aid  tu  an  enterprise  that  would 
redound  to  the  good  of  the  country. 

Our  Chit'nninai  I'rince,  then  <iuitf  old,  was  most  iu- 
crediiluUH  uh  to  the  powtibiiitieH  of  the  wonderful  rail- 
road. In  hiH  book,  A  Thouaand  Milet  of»  on  Elephant 
in  thf  Shan  Stnti/>,  Mr.  Hullett  has  n'wen  an  aiiinsiug 
iirnniiil  of  his  llrst  iulerviow  witii  the  I'rince.  lie  had 
great  ditliculty  in  understunding  huw  a  train  eouid 
more  faster  than  poniee,  or  bow  it  could  move  at  all 
without  l)eing  drawn  liy  some  animal.  .\nd  how  could 
it  aHcend  the  hills?  For  it  would  nurely  slide  down 
unlesa  it  were  pulled  up.  "  I  ex{)lained  to  him  that  I 
bad  made  three  railways  in  England,  therefore  be 
might  rely  upon  what  I  had  said.  Railways  were 
made  in  various  parts  <jf  the  world  over  much  more 
difficult  bills  than  those  lying  between  Zimme  (Chieng- 
mai)  and  Maulniein.  ...  lie  seemed  (luite  stupefied 
l»y  the  revclatif>n.  It  might  be  so — it  must  be  so,  as  I 
had  seen  it ;  but  he  could  not  understand  how  it  could 
be.  He  was  very  old;  he  could  not  live  much  longer. 
He  hojK'd  wr  would  he  quick  in  setlinn  alMiu)  and  con 
structing  the  line,  as  otherwise  he  would  not  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  it." 

We  started  at  last  on  March  3d,  1884,  with  four 
lari^c  ridinjj  elephants,  four  pack  elciihanls.  and  u\\- 
merous  carriers,  making  forly-t»ne  persons  in  all.  The 
passport  from  the  Siamese  government,  supplemented 
l)y  one  from  the  acting  Connnissioiier.  and  the  jn  est  nee 
with  us  of  a  L&o  official  of  some  rank,  sent  to  see  that 


MICROCOPY  RESOLUTION  TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No  2) 


^    /APPLIED  INA^GE  Inc 


'v 


246  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


the  orders  were  carried  out,  secured  for  us  men  and 
elephants  and  all  necessary  equipments,  so  I'ar  as  the 
country  could  furnish  them.  The  local  ollicials  were 
usually  very  kind,  and  as  prompt  as  native  oflScials 
ever  were  in  those  days.  Mr.  Hallett  was  very  con- 
siderate in  arranging  to  stop  for  the  night  and  on 
Sundays  near  large  villages  and  towns,  where  a  little 
missionary  work  could  be  done.  In  the  cities  where 
there  were  Christians,  we  held  regular  serviros  on 
Sundays.  On  these  occasions  our  chief  gave  the  in- 
fluence of  his  presence,  though,  of  course,  he  could 
not  understand  what  was  said. 

On  this  trip  ve  had  a  good  opportunity  for  studying 
the  characteristics  of  the  elephant.  He  is  very  con- 
scious of  his  dignity,  and  must  be  treated  with  the 
respect  due  to  a  king,  and  not  with  the  familiarity  of 
an  equal.  Yet  one  is  amused  at  his  timidity.  I  my- 
self have  seen  one  ready  to  stampede  if  a  squirrel  or 
a  big  rat  ran  across  the  road  in  front  of  him.  Mr. 
Hallett  says:  "  Elephants,  though  immense  in  size,  are 
very  timid,  and  easily  startled.  We  had  to  take  them 
vft  the  path  and  turn  their  heads  away  into  the 
jungles,  whenever  we  heard  the  tinkling  hells  of  an  ap- 
proaching caravan;  and  they  will  turn  tail  and  run  at 
the  sight  of  an  audacious  little  dog  that  thinks  fit  to 
bark  at  them." 

On  sonie  of  the  stages  of  our  march,  when  we  had  a 
mother-elephant  in  our  company,  we  had  the  mis- 
chievous youngster  along.  Such  are  always  an  un- 
ceasing source  of  amusement.  One  of  lliese  seemed  to 
have  a  special  spite  against  Mr.  llallett's  Madras  boy, 
either  because  of  his  peculiar  dress,  or  for  some  lib- 
erty he  had  taken  with  him.  Mr.  Hallett  writes :  "  The 
little  elephant  was  taking  every  chance  he  could  get 


A  SURVEYING  EXPEDITION  24T 


to  bustle  the  men  over  as  they  forded  the  streams,  and 

in  souse  ♦lipin  with  water  from  his  trunk.  Portow, 
who  had  an  overweening  opinion  of  his  own  dignity, 
and  was  bent  on  setting  up  as  an  oracle,  was,  unfor- 
tunately, the  butt  of  the  boys,  but  was  likewise  the 
sport  of  the  baby-elephant.  Many  a  time  have  I  seen 
him  hustled  over  by  the  youngster,  wlio  seemed  to 
have  picked  him  out  as  his  playmate.  Slyly  and  softly 
stealing  up  behind,  be  would  suddenly  increase  his 
pace,  and,  with  a  (inick  slniflie  or  a  sudden  lurch, 
shoulder  him  sprawliug  to  the  ground.  Portow,  dur- 
ing this  part  of  the  journey,  behaved  like  a  hunted  man, 
ever  looking  behind  to  see  whether  the  dreadful  infant 
was  behind." 

My  friend.  Dr.  Gushing,  who  had  been  put  in  charge 
of  the  train,  and  our  prince-guide,  both  believed  in  the 
oriental  idea  of  making  an  impression  by  as  imposing 
a  pageant  as  possible.  On  nearing  Chieng  Rai,  they 
marshalled  us  in  procession,  so  that  we  enter^  the 
city  in  state,  with  ten  armed  men  leading  the  way. 
Possibly  it  had  its  desired  effect,  for  a  warm  welcome 
was  given  us,  and  every  aid  was  granted. 

In  the  eleven  years  since  my  first  visit  there  with 
Dr.  Vrooman,  the  city  had  grown  in  size.  The  fertil- 
ity of  its  soil  and  the  large  extent  of  its  arable  land 
were  sure  to  attract  still  larger  population  from  the 
south.  In  addition  to  these  natural  advantages,  it  had 
then  another  strong  claim  for  a  mission  station.  While 
all  the  other  Lao  states,  through  their  rulers,  submit- 
ted to  the  introduction  of  Christianity  rather  than  wel- 
comed it,  C'hieng  Bfli  and  Thieng  8to  were  exceptions. 
The  rulers  of  both  desired  the  presence  of  the  mission- 
aries. 

The  Sunday  spent  there  was  a  welcome  day  of  rest. 


248  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

The  week  had  been  a  strenuous  one.  In  the  morning 
we  held  a  puMic  service -the  first  ever  held  there. 
Mr.  nallett  and  our  prince  guide  attended,  sind  curi- 
osity collected  quite  a  congregation.  After  tiffin,  Dr. 
Gushing  and  I  spent  several  hours— the  first  quiet  ones 
wo  had  had— reading  in  the  monastery  grounds  at  the 
great  bend  of  the  river. 

That  evening  I  met  the  governor  at  home  and,  save 
for  the  presence  of  his  wife,  alone.    His  intelligent 
enquiries  as  to  ,lie  truths  and  teachings  of  our  religion 
showed  that  he  had  already  thought  much  on  the 
subject.   Krii  Nan  Ta  and  he  were  not  very  distant 
relatives,  and  had  had  m.  oy  conversations  on  the  sub- 
ject.  His  regard  for  our  mission  and  his  earnest 
desire  for  a  mission  station,  as  well  as  the  protection 
he  afterwards  gave  the  Christian^  when  they  were 
wronged,  had,  1  believe,  a  deeper  foundation  than  an 
intellectual  interest,  or  even  a  personal  friendship 
for  ns. 

Our  next  stage  was  Chieng  Sen.   There  Nan  Suwan, 
our  ruling  elder,  and  his  family  gave  us  a  warm  wel- 
come.  He  met  us  at  the  city  gate,  hardly  hoping  there 
would  be  a  missionary  in  the  expedition,  which,  rumour 
told  him,  was  coming.    His  house  stood  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  just  where  Dr.  Vrooman  and  1  landed  thir- 
teen years  before,  when  the  only  occupants  were  wild 
beasts.    The  new  settlers  had  been  so  busy  providing 
housing  and  sustenance  for  themselves,  that  only  one 
monastery  building  had  been  roofed,  and  only  a  por- 
tion of  its  images  stored  under  shelter.   Our  old 
friend  the  pivernor  had  cmly  a  bamboo  residence.  Nan 
Suwan  had  made  friends  by  the  help  of  the  quinine 
with  which  he  had  been  supplied,  and  he  had  the  best 
house  in  the  city.   It  served,  also,  as  a  chapel,  in 


A  SURVEYING  EXPEDITION  249 


which,  with  grateful  hearts,  we  worshipped  on 
Bnnday. 

The  governor  was  even  more  insistent  in  his  demand 
for  a  mission  station  than  the  governor  of  Chieng  Kai 
had  been.  He  even  offered  to  send  down  elephants  to 
move  us  up,  if  we  would  come.  His  was  not  the  <:eep 
religious  nature  of  the  Chieng  Rai  governor.  He  pos- 
sibly belioved  that  in  their  sphere  all  religions  were 
alike  good.  He  urged,  as  he  had  done  before,  that  we 
might  even  then  forestall  the  monasteries  and  pre- 
occupy the  field.  Nothing  would  have  pleased  me 
more,  had  it  been  possible,  than  to  accept  the  cordial 
invitation.  It  was  true,  as  the  governor  said,  "  The 
people  must  and  will  have  some  religion.  If  you  do 
not  give  them  Christianity,  they  must  take  Buddhism." 
It  was  only  necessity  that  could  resist  such  a  plea. 
But  half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread.  If  we  were 
not  ready  to  start  a  regular  station  in  Chieng  Sfin,  we 
must  somehow  work  the  lield  as  best  we  could.  That 
consideration  determined  my  long  tours  in  the  dry  sea- 
sons of  the  years  that  followed. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  never  been  properly  equipped 
and  outfitted  for  such  tours.  One  outcome  of  this  trip 
was  a  gi-eat  improvement  in  my  means  of  transporta- 
tion for  the  future.  An  application  made  long  before 
this  to  the  Board  for  an  elephant,  had  been  received  as 
a  huge  joke.  But  now  it  happened  that  in  the  assign- 
ment of  elephants  for  our  upward  trip,  a  large  sadaw — 
a  male  without  tusks — had  fallen  to  me.  lie  proved  to 
be  an  exceptionally  fine  beast  belonging  to  an  estate 
abont  to  be  divided.  He  must  be  sold,  and  was  held  at 
a  very  (  heap  figure.  With  the  help  of  a  contribution  by 
Mr.  Hallett,  and  the  hire  paid  for  its  use,  T  was  able  to 
purchase  it.   The  deputy  governor  gave  me  a  good  how- 


250  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
dah  for  it.  I  was  as  proud  of  luy  new  aciui.Ui.m  a« 
fver  a  boy  was  of  a  new  toy.  But  since  few  elephants 
wTu  travel  well  aloue,  1  now  needed  a  mate  for  hirn^ 
Before  long  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  a  cheap  and 
STua  ly  go^  female.  I  was  then  prepare,  for  n.y  Ion. 
^urs.  I  could  cross  streams  in  safety,  nd  I. 
tected  from  rain,  even  if  my  journey  were  prolonged  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  dry  season. 

On  our  return  journey,  in  Mflang  Payao  we  came  m 
contact  with  tue  worst  epidemic  ^"^^I'l'^^/J;"!,^ 
have  ever  seen.   We  met  it  at  everv  turn  in  the  street. 
With  difficulty  could  we  keep  pare,  ts  with  children,  all 
broken  out  with  the  disease,  in  their  arms,  from  crowd^ 
LTround  us  in  our  sala.   We  had  hardly  taken  our 
Belts  on  the  rugs  spread  for  us  at  the  gove^ors  of^ 
flcial  reception  of  Mr.  Hallett,  when  wo  d.soovered 
ca  OS  of  smallpox  all  ahout  us.    Dr.  Cushmg  was 
nervously  afraid  of  it,  and  retired.   I  had  to  remam 
au  hour  as  interpreter.   Imagine  our  constornat.on  on 
reaching  the  next  station  1o  find  that  the  Doo  or 
sLowed  unmistakable  signs  of  having  ^'ontracted  the 
dreadful  disease,  although  he  had  been  vaccmat^  xn 
his  youth.   What  a  discovery  to  he  made  on  a  jm  r^ 
ney,  and  four  days  from  home!   On  consultatum  it  was 
thoWht  best  to  hasten  on  to  Chiengmai,  a  thing  which 
our  mode  of  travel  made  possible.   Mr.  and  Mrs.     u  V 
a«rs  Martin  had  arrived  during  our  ..bseiice,  and  had 
taken  up  their  <,uarters  in  our  house.  l^J^^^^^^^^ 
fore,  impossible  to  take  our  sick  friend  in    We  did 
he  kext  best  thing,  and  gave  him  a  new  han  boo  hou  e 
on  our  hospital  lot,  where  Dr.   Peoples  carefully 
watched  over  him  till  he  made  a  rapid  recovery,  and 
was  able  to  return  home  in  a  boat  as  far  as  H-'"?'^^^, 
and  thence  by  see.  f>ia  Singapore.   It  was  a  sad  close, 


A  bURVEi'ING  EXPEDITION 


251 


however,  to  our  pleasant  visit  together,  and  to  our 
otherwise  interesting  and  profitable  tour. 

I  returned  from  Chieng  S^n,  as  we  have  seen,  with 
an  elephant  of  my  own.  On  reaching  home  I  found 
awaiting  me  the  best  puny  I  ever  had.  It  was  sent 
to  me  as  a  present  from  the  governor  of  Elawng 
Sawn,  near  the  Halwin  River.  I  had  never  been  to  M6 
Uawng  Sawn,  and  bad  but  a  very  limited  acquaintance 
with  the  governor.  According  to  my  uniform  custom 
in  those  days,  on  his  official  visits  to  Chiengmai,  T  bad 
twice  called  upon  him  as  the  governor  of  a  neighbour- 
ing province.  On  both  occasions  we  had  conversation 
on  the  different  merits  of  the  two  religions.  On  one 
of  these  visits  be  had  brought  down  some  ponies  to  sell, 
and  on  my  asking  the  price  of  one  he  said,  "  I  am 
very  sorry  that  I  have  sold  all  my  gentle  oitea.  There 
is  only  one  left.  If  you  can  use  him,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  give  him  to  you."  It  is  a  McGilvary  trait  not  to 
be  timid  about  horses,  and  1  said,  "  I  will  try  him." 
So  the  pony  was  sent  down  to  my  house ;  but  he  proved 
rather  too  much  for  my  horsemanship.  The  first  time 
I  mounted  him,  be  threw  me  and  sprained  my  wrist. 
It  was  the  unanimons  vote  of  the  family  that  he  be 
returned  with  thanks.  The  governor  sent  back  word 
that  he  was  very  sorry;  but  never  mind;  when  he 
reached  home  he  would  see  to  it  that  I  bad  a  good 
pony — a  message  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I  took  as  a 
good  oriental  compliment.  I  had  even  forgotten  all 
about  the  matter,  when,  on  my  return  from  this  trip, 
I  found  the  pony  in  my  stable.  He  was  a  most 
valuable  and  timely  present. 

But  we  art  not  quite  done  with  Mr.  Hallett's  sur- 
vey.  He  made  a  short  excursion  without  an  inter 


252  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  1^0 
preter  to  the  hot  springs.   Kut  his  final  tni.  was  be 
?o  Mflan,  Fans,  six  days  to  the  north  an*!;;^^ 
route  p..'viously  taken,  and  distant  Bome  e  gb  y- 
miles  from  ChicrigmaL   His  object  was  to  the  re 

were  not  an  easier  route  to  Chieng  Rai  down  the  y^\- 
U^rTtL  Me  Fang  and  the  M6  Kok  The  tnp 
Ht  onglv  appealed  both  to  Mr.  Martin  and  to  me^d 
we  gUdly  aLepted  Mr.  Halletfa  invitation  t  accom- 

^TftJngFang  was  an  ancient  city  capti  and  de- 
stroyed by  the  Burmese  in  1717;  so  that  it  lay  in 
r^ns  nearly  two  hundred  years  befot.  it  was  repeopled^ 
Tides  MMng  Fang,  we  visited,  either  -  gomg  or^ 
turning  our  other  citles-Chier.g  DSo,  Mftang  Ngft^, 
MMng  i'ao,  and  Miiang  Kto.  Not  far  to  the  south  of 
Canl  Fang  we  visited  the  cave  of  Top  Too  noted  m 
the  Buddhist  legends  of  Northern  Siam.  Mr.  Hallett 
thus  describes  our  experiences  there: 

« Inside  was  a  lofty  cavern  lighted  by  a  naW  slight 
nn  »  raised  platform  in  the  cave  was  a  great  reclining 

J  ?Lr="5  r  of -^o,*..,,  ^^^^ 

torches  and  proceeded  further  u.to  the  bowels  of  the  earin^ 
J^lTl  eniovcd  a  quiet  smoke  amongst  the  gods.  Down 
ty  went  crpt:  through  low,  narrow  Pa-^f 
Zl  along  ledges,  with  chasms  and  pits  hning  their  path  a. 


A  SURVEYING  EXPEDITION  253 


the  cave  cxpunded — Iiottoinlcss  as  far  as  they  could  jiidgR  by 
the  faint  light  of  their  torches,  but  really  not  more  than 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep — ^until  they  could  get  no  further, 
and  had  to  return,  having  proceeded  about  the  eighth  of 

a  mile." 

That  night  brought  us  to  the  M£  F&ag  River.  The 
narrative  proceeds : 

"  Here  we  spent  the  most  unpleasant  night  we  had  yet 
spent,  aa  we  were  troubled  with  rain,  heat,  and  moequitoes. 
We  were  UM  that  pamc  was  plentiful.  Wild  cattle  larRer 
than  buffaloes  come  in  droves  from  the  hills  to  graze  in  the 
plain,  while  the  rhinoceros  and  the  elephant  roam  about 
the  plains. 

"At  our  next  stopping  place,  after  we  had  settled  our- 
selves in  an  empty  house,  a  villager  came  to  inform  us  that 
the  house  belonged  to  the  Chief  of  Muang  Ffing,  and  that 
anybody  that  slept  in  it  would  have  his  head  cut  off.  As 
rain  was  threatening,  we  determined  to  risk  the  penalty, 
and  we  were  soon  glad  that  we  had  done  so,  as  the  rain 
poured  down  in  torraita." 

There  13  a  small  deer  caHed  trimn^,  which  twenty 
years  apo  was  very  abundant  in  all  the  northern 

provi'  "  ''"y  are  not  found  in  the  very  tall  grass 
of  tb>  ttoms,  but  in  grass  about  waist-high 

thickly  ftng  the  higher  plains.  They  have  their 
beds  in  this  grass  by  day,  and  graze  at  night.  They 
are  lower  thp.n  the  grass,  and  never  leap  so  as  to  show 
the  body,  but  glide  smoothly  along  as  if  swimming,  dis- 
covering their  presence  only  through  the  parting  and 
waving  of  the  grass.  SometimoB  yon  get  right  npon 
them  before  they  will  run. 

One  Saturday  we  got  Mr.  Hallett  interested  in  some 
survey  or  calculations  not  requiring  the  aid  of  an  in- 
t^reter,  and  Mr.  Martin  and  I  had  our  first  deer-htuit 


2-A  AMONH  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  lAO 

We  t....k  six  of  our  dephant*,  and,  going  «»* 
hour's  ride  or  more  from  the  city,  we  formed  m  open 
o'er  abreast.  abo,U  forty  ynrdn  apnrt,  and  m  perfec^ 
Bilence  moved  forward  over  the  plain.  The  h«nt« 
tL  BtartH  hia  own  game.  He  aita  on  the  back. 
better  atlll,  on  the  neck  of  bin  .lephant.  w.th  gun 
c^^od,  ready  for  a  shot  at  the  tlr«t  noine  or  inove^ 
ment  in  the  gras.   We  started  abont  a  ^o^n  o  t^e 
deer,  and  emptied  many  cartridges,  but  ramc  back  to 
Zn.  with  no  meat-much  to  Mr.  Halletfs  d.sgust^ 

Mftang  Fang,  like  Chieng  S^n,  was  rich  m  images 
of  an  «L  and  materials.  1  never  saw  finer  bronze 
oL^  It  was  a  favourite  field  from  which  H.amene 
iXces  and  ..fflcials  could  get  a  supph  "tberwine  un^ 
'attainable  in  those  days.  Of  course,  y  hare  a  righ 
to  them.  Bnt  when  a  German  traveller  umlortook  a 
wbiSe  speculation  in  the  images  of  »^"ddha  U  was 
quite  an..ther  matter,  and  he  goi  into  senous  diffl- 
culty  with  the  government.  •        rr^^uptt  loft 

sion  after  onr  retnm  to  Ch.engma.  Mr.  Hallett  k  ft 
us  for  Bangkok.  From  his  long  residence  m  Burma 
and  from  his  close  connection  with  the  mission  and 
missionaries  during  his  expedition  among  what  he 
rails  the  Shan  States,  he  understood  the  methods  and 
results  of  missionary  work  better  than  most  vis,  tors 
who  have  written  upon  the  subject.  The  kmd  words 
Tf  the  dedication  of  his  book,  thongh  oft«i  qnoted, 
may  well  conclude  this  chapter. 

..  To  the  American  Missionaries  in  Burma  and  Siam 
and  the  Shan  States  I  dedicate  this  book,  as  a  mark 
of  the  high  esteem  in  which  I  hold  the  noble  work  the 
American  Baptist  Mission  and  the  American  Presby^ 
terian  Mission  are  accomplishing  in  civilixing  and 
Christianizing  the  people  of  Indo-Chma. 


XXIII 


EVANGELISTIC  TBAININO 
N  our  return  from  tbe  surveying  expedition  in 


the  summer  of  1884,  we  found  F.  B.  Gould, 


Esq.,  our  first  British  Vice-Consul,  already 
established  in  <'hiengmai.  It  was  an  important  event 
for  tbe  country;  since  i  British  utiicial  in  any  place  is 
a  guarantee  that  at  least  the  outward  forms  of  law 
and  justice  will  be  observed.  lu  one  important  sense, 
too,  it  marked  a  new  era  for  the  mission,  or,  at  least, 
for  the  missionaries. 

Those  who  have  not  tried  can  hardly  imagine  the  pri- 
vation of  living  eighteen  years  without  a  mail  system 
of  any  kind.  Our  only  dependence  so  far  was  on 
catching  chance  trading  boats  to  and  fnnn  Bangkok. 
These  were  always  an  uncertain  quantity;  in  very  low 
water  they  almost  ceased  to  travel.  Some  boatmen 
preferred  not  to  be  responsible  for  the  mail,  not  know- 
ing what  it  might  contain.  In  the  great  dty  of  Bang- 
kok, and  even  in  Chiengmai,  it  required  a  constant  ef- 
fort to  keep  ourselves  informed  of  the  departures  of 
boats.  The  consequence  was  that  an  absence  of  news 
from  children,  frioids,  and  the  outside  world  gener- 
ally, for  three  or  four  months  at  a  time,  was  very  com- 
mon. Bometimes  ihe  interval  was  as  much  as  eight 
months.  Add  to  this  the  time  of  the  long  river  trip, 
and  our  news  son^times  would  be  nearly  a  year  old 
when  it  reached  us    Mr.  Wilson's  family  and  mine 


255 


256  AMONU  TilE  BlAMKSi:  AND  TIIK 

liiiil  sclidolcd  oiii  s('lv<>s  to  tlicse  nuidiliolis ;  l»\it  to 
those  who  hud  been  uccustoiued  to  u  «luil>  mail,  they 
mmt  hare  been  almost  unendurable. 

The  new  Vlce-Ciai«ll  came,  determined  by  nil  means 
to  jfet  Home  regular  communication  establislied,  if  it 
were  only  a  moutldy  one.   We  were  only  too  «{lad  to 
do  whatever  we  conld  to  that  end.   It  was  a  matter 
of  pride  to  bi.tb  jiiuties  that  we  arrangiHl  at  ouce  for 
a  regular  and  iiiost  MuceesHful  seml  niouthly  mail  over 
land  to  Maolmeln.   I  furnished  a  reliable  Chrlntian 
man  for  chief  eoii tractor,  and  P'lod  men  for  carriers. 
Since  Mr.  (lould  liiid  ns  yet  no  authority  from  his  gov- 
ernment to  iutur  any  expense,  the  arrangement  was 
wholly  a  private  affair,  with  the  nnderstanding  that 
all  who  availed  themsdvi's  of  it  should  pay  a  quarterly 
assessment  for  the  maintenance  of  the  line.   But  in  a 
short  time  the  British  government  assumed  the  whole 
expense.   Mr.  Qould  promised  to  get  the  staff  exempt 
from  corv6e,  or  compnlsi  iy  fr,)vernment  .,ervice.  He 
had  to  use  his  oflBcial  auth»irity  for  that. 

The  Lao  government  had  absolutely  no  interest  In 
a  nmil,  whether  weekly  or  yearly;  but  the  Siamese 
looked  rather  askance  at  havinf?  in  their  own  coun- 
try a  mail  service  over  which  they  had  no  control. 
It  seemed  to  be  In  some  way  a  reflection  on  their  na- 
tional pride.  There  is  little  doubt  that  our  private 
enterprise  hastened  the  weekly  government  mail  from 
Bangkok,  which  was  started  the  next  year.  And  since 
the  Maulmein  route  is  (luicker  by  two  weeks  than 
the  one  by  Hanfjkok,  the  Siamese  povornment  has  of 
late  maintained  both,  the  tv>o  moeliug  at  Uah^ng,  and 
giving  us  a  very  creditable  and  regular  mail  service. 

In  the  v.pring  of  1884  the  mission  sustained  a  great 


BVAN0BU8TIC  TBAININQ  287 


loss  in  (hp  (h'jjth  of  rritKcss  Tipa  Kfsawn,  Prince  In- 
tanon'it  coDnort,  whom  we  wciv  in  (lie  habit  of  cHllinR 
**  the  Queen."  Placed  as  8be  was,  she  could  not  well 
have  avoided  the  making  of  priests'  garmoits,  and  the 
going  fhroiiKh  with  the  form  of  making  olfcringH  (o  (lu! 
HplritH.  Hut  1  HcriouKly  d<tuht  whether  she  bad  an^  ex- 
pectation of  laying  up  tliereby  a  store  of  merit  fnr  the 
future.  One  thing  we  do  i^now,  that  in  her  last  sick- 
nesH  she  (urnHl  no  anxiou..  Iduk  to  any  of  tlu'se  things, 
at  a  time  when  thoughtful  IJuddhiMtH  are  always  most 
diligent  In  their  efforts.  Dr.  Peoples  of  our  mission 
attended  her  in  hrr  lasi  illness  a<(d  the  case  was  sub- 
mitted entirely  to  him.  Mrs.  McGilvary  and  I  were 
both  with  her  the  day  before  she  died.  Mrs.  McGil- 
vary  was  with  her  at  her  death,  and  remained  to  see 
the  body  drensed  for  the  collin.  We  missed  her  very 
much  as  a  friend,  ant',  the  whole  country  missed  her  as 
a  balance-wheel  for  her  husband. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcement  in  1883,  a  Pres- 
bytery was  organized  of  the  four  ministers,  Wilson, 
Peoples,  Hearst,  and  McGilvary.  I  was  thee  full  of 
the  idea  of  a  theological  training-class.  My  experi- 
ence of  the  accumulated  power  added  to  the  mission 
ary's  efforts  by  having  such  assistants  as  Niln  Inta, 
Nftn  Buwan.  and  Noi  Intachak,  raised  in  r,  mind  th. 
question.  Why  not  inci-ease  the  nninber?  i.,  ing  had 
no  schools,  we  had,  of  course,  no  body  of  young  men 
educated  on  Christian  lines  whom  we  might  train  for 
the  ministry;  and  we  could  not  have  such  for  years 
to  come.  But  we  had  in  our  churches  mature  men  of 
deeply  religions  nature,  earnest  students  of  Buddhism, 
and  carefully  educated  in  all  the  learning  of  their  race. 
And  a  man  so  trained  has  many  compeasations  for 


258  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
his  lack  of  training  in  onr  elementary  schools.  He 
knows  the  sacred  books  of  his  own  people,  their 
strength  and  their  weakness.  He  widerstands  the 
thoughts,  the  needs,  and  the  difficulties  of  a  Buddh.st 
enquirer,  and  the  mode  of  argument  by  which  these 
difficulties  are  to  met,  as  no  young  man  of  his  own 
race,  and  as  no  foreign  teacher  can  do.  The  training 
needed  to  make  such  a  man  an  efficient  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,  is  training  in  the  (Christian  Scriptures,  to- 
gether with  practical  experience  in  evangelistic  work 
under  efflcient  direction.  ^  • 

I  was  at  that  time  -.iving  regular  instruction  to  Noi 
Intachak.  one  of  the  finest  young  men  I  have  ever 
known  in  that  country,  and  very  anxious  to  become  a 
minister.*  To  Nan  Tft,  afterwards  our  efficient  min 
ister,  1  was  giving  instruction  less  regularly,  as  it 
was  possible  for  him  to  take  it.  But  it  would  have 
been  both  easier  and  more  profitable  to  teach  a  class 
of  six  or  eight.  By  qualifying  such  a  group  of  young 
men  to  work,  and  then  working  with  them  and  through 
them,  I  believed  that  my  own  efficiency  conld  be 
quadrupled,  or  even  sextnpled,  as  it  was  doubled  when 
1  had  Nan  Inta  to  work  with. 

With  these  thoughts  and  this  experience  impressed 
on  my  mind,  and  in  order  that  my  plan,  if  adopted, 
might  have  the  ecclesiastical  sanction  of  the  Pres 
bvterv  as  well  as  the  corporate  sanction  of  the  mis- 
sion I  had  urged  the  organization  of  the  Presbytery 
iust  as  soon  as  we  had  the  minimum  quorum  required^ 
In  order  to  give  the  discussion  its  proper  outlook  and 
perspective,  1  noticed,  also,  in  the  paper  which  I  read 
before  the  ITeshytcry,  the  necessity  of  a  general  edu- 
1  Our  hopes  for  his  future  career,  ala..  were  cut  Bbort  by  bit  un- 
timely  death  in  tt»  f  oUowtsg  ye»r. 


E\'  A  N CJ 1. 1 S T I  ( •  T  H  A I N I X  ( J 


cation  for  all  our  Christians,  and  of  High  Schools  for 
both  sexes;  while  I  sketched  more  in  detail  the  nature 
and  the  methods  of  special  instruction  intended  for 
thf»sp  in  training  to  become  evangelists  and  ministers. 

The  training  proposed  for  this  last  group  was  in- 
tended primarily  to  equip  the  most  capable  and  most 
promising  individuals  among  the  (•(•nveils  for  filling 
well  their  places  as  lay  oilicers  and  leaders  in  the 
churches,  and  for  engaging  intelligently  in  evangelistic 
work.  But  beyond  this  it  was  thought  that  it  would 
ultimately  furnish  a  body  of  picked  men  fn.m  wIhuu 
again  the  best  might  be  chosen  as  candidates  for 
further  instruction  leading  up  to  the  ministerial  of- 
fice. The  course  was  to  be  flexible  enough  to  permit 
occasional  attendance  with  i»rofit  on  the  part  of  men 
whose  household  duties  or  whose  business  would  not 
permit  them  to  attend  regularly.  Its  special  feature 
was  actual  and  constant  practice  in  evangelistic  work 
under  the  direction  and  suj)ervisi(tu  df  the  Principal, 
and  with  him  as  his  assistants  ou  his  tours. 

In  view  of  the  poverty  of  the  Lao  generally,  and  in 
order  to  make  it  possible  for  these  men  to  maintain 
their  families  while  occupied  with  this  training,  it  was 
further  pro[)osed  that  they  should  receive  a  moderate 
allowance  of,  perhaps,  eight  rupees  per  month  of  actual 
service,  or  about  three  dollars  of  our  money.  This 
seemed  not  unreasonable,  since  in  Christian  lands  it 
is  thought  a  wise  provision  to  assist  students  in  their 
preparatif>n  for  the  ministry;  and  since  what  is  re- 
quired to  support  one  Kuro|)e<in  missionary  family, 
would  support  half  a  dozen  fairly  educated  native 
ministers  or  ten  good  native  evangelists. 

The  Presbytery  took  hold  of  the  scheme  with  much 
ardour,  and  at  once  began  to  oi'ganize  it  into  shape. 


260  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

but  on  far  too  large  a  scale,  and  with  far  too  formi- 
dable and  too  foreign  apparatus.   A  regular  "  Board 
of  Education  "  was  created,  with  rules  and  regulations 
better  suited  to  American  conditions  than  to  those  of 
the  Lao  chuiclios.    A  committee  was  further  appointed 
to  examine  all  applicants  for  the  course,  much  after 
the  manner  of  receiving  candidates  for  the  ministry 
under  the  care  of  a  Presbytery.   Their  "  motives  for 
seeking  the  ministry  "  were  to  be  enquired  into,  while 
ao  yet  it  was  not  at  all  known  whether  they  would 
desire  to  become  ministers.  The  allowance  in  each 
case  -vas  to  be  the  absolute  minimum  which  it  was  sup- 
posed would  suffice  for  the  maintenance  of  the  stu- 
dent after  he  had  provided  all  that  he  could  himself. 
Noi  Intachak,  for  example,  was  allowed  the  maximum 
of  eight  rupees  a  month,  while  Noi  <"hai— one  of  the 
best  Buddhist  scholars  in  the  country,  a  young  man 
with  a  family,  living  ten  miles  away  in  the  country- 
was  allowed  five  rupees,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not 
very  poor;  while  yet  another  was  allowed  but  three. 

After  this  ordeal— which  was  thought  to  be  a  good 
test  of  their  sincerity— the  rest  of  the  six  or  eight  can- 
didates for  instruction  declined  to  commit  themselves. 
None  of  them  understood  exactly  what  the  Board  of 
Education  was  about.  I  myself  was  gi-eatly  disap- 
pointed at  the  outcome.  After  a  week  of  listless  study, 
Noi  Thai  begged  to  he  allowed  to  withdraw,  and  the 
whole  thing  was  disbanded.  My  hopeful  private  class 
was  killed  by  too  much  "  red  tape,"  and  with  it  all  pos- 
sibility of  a  training-class  for  four  years  to  come.  I 
was  again  set  free  for  long  tours  and  my  favourite 
evangelistic  work. 

I  continued  to  teach  Noi  Intachak  till  his  lamented 
death,  and  I  devoted  what  spare  time  I  could  to  teaching 


EVANGELISTIC  TRAINING 


2fil 


the  long-time  wanderer,  Nfin  Ta,  who  had  become  our 
best  evangelist.  There  seems  to  have  been  some  fatal- 
ity connecltHl  with  all  our  elToits  to  establish  a  theo- 
logical traiuing  school.  When  the  next  attempt  was 
made,  under  Mr.  Dodd's  direction,  with  a  large  and  in- 
teresting class  enthasiastically  tanght,  through  some 
cause  or  combination  of  causes— for  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  specify  any  singie  one  as  alone  determinative — 
it  was  allowed  to  slip  out  of  oar  hands.  Possibly  a 
leading  cause  in  this  case  was  the  same  that  was 
operative  in  the  other.  At  a  time  when  the  mission 
was  pressing  the  idea  of  self-support  to  its  breaking 
point,  an  allowance  probably  too  scanty  was  offered 
in  the  evangelistic  work  to  the  men  who  had  been 
trained  for  it.  The  whole  question  in  the  Lao  field, 
as  it  doubtless  is  in  others,  is  a  difficult  one.  As  wages 
in  other  departmmts  rise,  and  the  demand  for  com- 
petent mc  becomes  more  pressing  both  in  govern- 
mental and  in  private  business,  the  question  will  be- 
come more  difftcnlt  still.  While  on  the  one  hand  there 
is  the  danger  of  making  a  mercenary  ministry,  on  the 
other  baud  we  must  romeinber  that,  the  world  over, 
educated  labour  now  costs  more,  but  is  not,  therefore, 
necessarily  dearer.  The  same  penny-wise  and  ponnd- 
foolish  policy  has  lost  us  the  strength  of  some  of  the 
best  men  in  our  church,  our  schools,  our  hospitals,  and 
our  printing-press,  because  more  lucrative  positions 
are  offered  elsewhere.  But  we  must  remember  first  of 
all  that  theological  schools,  like  all  others,  are  not 
made,  but  grow ;  and,  second,  that  the  law  of  competi- 
tion prevails  here,  too,  as  well  as  elsewhere.  It  is 
easy  to  say  that  it  ought  not  to  do  so,  as  between  the 
ministry  and  other  professions,  or  between  the  mis- 
sionary work  and  other  more  lucrative  callings.  But 


202  AMONG  TIIK  SIAMESE  AND  THE  I.AO 

to  a  certnin  extent  the  same  law  does  hold,  aud  it  is 
a  fact  to  be  reckoned  with. 

Tn  May,  1881,  11.  K.  H.  Prince  Kronunani(.n  liijit,  a 
brotlier  of  the  Kiu<,'  of  Siani,  arrived  aud  took  up  his 
residence  in  Cbiengniai— probably  to  give  prestige  to 
the  High  Commissioner,  and  possibly  to  smooth  the 
road  of  the  new  Hritish  Consul.    It  was  an  open  secret 
that  the  Prince  of  Chieugmai  could  see  no  need  what- 
ever for  a  British  Resident,  and  at  times  he  was  not 
slow  to  make  his  views  known.    For  a  while  the  rela- 
tions betwwn  the  two  were  somewhat  strained.    Yet  it 
was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  relations  be- 
tween England  and  Siam  should  remain  cordial.  At 
the  same  time  it  was  a  part  of  the  plan  of  Siam,  since 
fully  carried  out,  to  assume  complete  control  of  the 
government  in  the  northern  states.   What  was  of  more 
special  interest  to  us  was.  as  we  shall  see,  not  only 
that  Prince  Hijit  was  per  onally  friendly,  but  that  he 
brought  with  him  substantial  evidence  of  the  good  will 
of  His  Majesty  and  of  the  Sijiraese  government  toward 
our  work. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  our  fii-st  attempt  at  tstab- 
lishing  a  mountain  sanitarium  was  made.  It  was  de- 
signed to  furnish  a  refuge  from  the  great  heat  of  the 
l.lain.  to  lK>  a  retreat  for  invalids,  and  a  place  where 
new  missionaries  might  more  safely  become  ac- 
climatized, and  still  be  studying  the  language.  Bnt  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  new  missionaries  are  put  to  work  so 
promptly  that  it  is  jil.out  as  hard  for  them  to  with- 
draw from  the  battle  as  it  is  for  the  older  ones.  Since 
we  kept  no  watchman  on  the  premises,  the  sanitarium 
was  afterwards  burncfl  down  possibly  by  forest  tires. 
Later  a  better  and  uore  convenient  situation  was  found 


E  V  AN( ;  1 :  1. 1  ST  F  C  TH  A I  \  I N  G 


nearer  the  city,  so  near  that  a  man  can  ride  up  in  the 
evening,  spend  the  night  there  with  his  family,  and  re- 
turn in  the  morning  to  his  worlc  for  the  day.  It  is  in 
a  dciiglitful  situation  l»f'sido  :i  cool  brook,  but  is  too 
low  lor  the  best  results  ua  a  health  resort. 

At  the  Annual  Mcotinj^  in  Deteiiiber,  the  importance 
of  opening  a  new  station  in  Lakawn  was  discussed. 
The  baptigm  of  the  oflBcer  from  tliat  city,  and  the 
organization  of  a  church  there,  have  already  been 
mentioned.  Tlio  ofTicor  was  conslinif  in  his  appeals 
for  the  establishment  of  a  station  ihere,  with  a  mis- 
sionary in  residence.  Although  Mr,  Wilson  was  soon 
to  start  with  his  family  for  the  United  States  on  a  fur- 
lough, there  would  still  be  left  in  Chiengiiiai — if  I  were 
sent  +0  Lakawn — two  ministers  and  two  physicians, 
even  u  these  were  but  three  men  in  all.  Besides,  there 
were  beginning  to  be  some  good  native  assistants  in 
Chiengmai.  No  one  had  expressed  a  desire  to  open  a 
new  station,  and  no  one  had  been  sounded  in  regard 
to  the  matter.  So  I  determined  to  make  now  the  visit 
to  Liikjiwn  wiiich  I  bad  iilauned  for  the  previous  fall, 
but  had  been  unable  to  accomplish.  My  wife  and  our 
little  son  Norwood  were  to  accompany  me.  When  our 
prei)arations  were  well  advanced,  what  was  our  delight 
to  find  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples  wished  to  accompany 
us,  if  they  could  obtain  elephants.  When  t,  is  was 
mentioned  to  Prince  Bijit,  he  not  only  volunteered  the 
elephants,  but  informed  us  that  he  had  authority  from 
His  Majesty  to  see  that  we  had  a  lot  for  our  station 
there,  and,  furthermore,  that,  in  passing  through 
Lakawn,  be  had  already  secured  for  us  one  of  the  most 
desirable  lots  in  the  place.  In  additi  >n  to  this.  His 
Majesty  had  sent  by  him  two  thousand  rupees  as  a  con- 


264  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


tribntion  toward  the  new  station  and  a  hospital.  Who 
could  fail  to  see  that  the  guiding  band  of  the  Lord  was 
in  it!  Before  this  I  had  written  to  our  United  States 
Consul  to  pet  permission  to  secure  a  lot  there,  but  had 
never  once  thought  of  a  contribution,  much  less  of  one 
so  liberal.  Mrs.  McGilvary  thus  reports  oar  trip  in 
a  letter  to  our  daughter : 

"  Lakawn,  January  30th,  1885.  We  reached  Lampiin  on 
Friday.  I  curtained  oflF  one  end  of  the  sala  just  north  of 
the  city,  and  Mrs.  Peoples  did  the  same  at  the  other  end, 
learing  the  space  between  and  the  veranda  for  callers. 
There  we  spent  the  Sabbath.  Your  father  preached  twice 
to  very  attentire  audiences.  We  were  impressed  with  the 
favourable  prospect  for  mission  work,  and  hope  to  make  a 
longer  visit  to  the  place  soon.  We  left  on  Monday,  and 
reached  this  place  on  Thursday  noon,  and  lodged  in  a  public 
sili  just  oppos-ite  the  beautiful  lot  which  the  Prince  has 
given  us  for  a  station.  It  is  in  a  fine  site,  one  of  the  best 
in  the  city.  We  called  on  the  Chief  this  morning,  and  all 
seemed  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  having  a  mission  station 
here.  It  is  not  yet  settled  who  is  to  open  it.  We  are  willing 
to  come,  and  8o  are  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples.*' 

As  may  well  be  imagined,  we  returned  to  Chiengmai 
with  grateful  hearts  for  the  many  providfluces  that 

had  favoured  us.  The  new  station  was  assured.  We 
had  not  then  thought  of  keeping  two  physicians  for 
Chiengmai.  Dr.  Cheek  had  charge  of  the  medical 
work.  Dr.  Peoples,  naturally,  preferred  a  tield  where 
he  would  have  ample  scope  both  for  his  medical  pro- 
fession and  for  the  itinerating  work  of  which  he  was 
equally  fond.  His  double  profession  and  other  quali- 
fications fitted  him  as  no  one  else  could  be  fitted 
for  opening  the  new  station.  On  my  wife's  account  I 
wao  very  willing  to  yield  him  the  pleasure — for  such 


EVANGELISTIC  TRAININO 


205 


to  me  it  has  always  been — of  breaking  uew  ground. 
Mrs.  McGiWary  bad  already  had  the  labour  and  self- 
denial  of  ()|)<>ning  two  stations,  one  of  which  was  a  new 
mission.  The  importance  of  Lakawn  as  tlie  next  sta- 
tion could  not  be  challenged.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples 
themselves  were  pleased  with  the  place  and  the  pros- 
pect of  the  new  tield.  So  the^  wei-c  unanimously  ap- 
pointed and  set  apart  to  the  new  and  important  work. 


XXIV 


STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  POWERS  OP  DABKNEafcJ 

THE  belief  iu  witchcraft  was  still  prevalent  every- 
where, and  this  year  brought  ii»  stiikiui,'  il 
lustrations  nf  its  cruel  iiower.    An  elderly  man 
with  his  wife  and  family,  living  iu  tme  of  the  uutlying 
villages,  was  accused  of  witchcraft.   The  pair  of  ele- 
phants which  he  owned  and  used  had  belonfjed  to  a 
man  suspected  of  liarbonring  a  malicious  spirit;  and  it 
was  thought  that  the  denum  had  followed  these  ele- 
phants into  the  family  of  their  new  master.   The  fam- 
ily was  promptly  ostracized;  but  by  driviu},'  otf  her 
husband  with  his  elephants,  the  wife  might  avoid  ex- 
pulsion, and  might  save  for  herself  and  her  daughters 
the  comfortable  home.   I  endeavoured  in  vain  to  pre- 
vent this  outcouu'.    "  I  am  much  inore  afraid  of  the 
spirits,"  said  the  wife,  "than  of  be!  -s  and  tigers." 
The  husband  could  no  longer  face  the  universal  odium 
which  he  encountered,  and  si>  was  driven  forth.  But 
the  sjiirits  s('rv<'d  the  old  man  a  good  turn— they 
drove  him  into  the  Christian  religion,  which  he  lives  to 
adorr    and  they  gave  him  two  good  elephants.  The 
f:imil>  afterwards  applied  for  one  <.f  them.    As  a  mat- 
ter of  tHjuity  he  gave  up  one,  and  lived  comfortably 
with  a  Christian  son  on  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
the  other. 

Then  there  was  a  great  epidemic  of  fever  in  Ban  I'en 
in  the  neighbouring  province  of  LarapQn.   Few  homes 

260 


were  left  without  sud  lieurtH  uud  vacant  places  through 
the  death  of  one  or  more  uieinberg.  The  destroyer 
must  b<  80Die  demop  which  had  taken  up  its  abode  in  a 

Imtiian  fuiliitatioii,  a;  I  waH  pivyiiif,'  on  tlic  iiiliahitanfs 
of  the  village.  The  family  of  oue  of  the  most  pro8- 
perons  men  in  the  village  was  finally  selected  m  the  one 
which  must  l»e  the  abode  of  the  destroyer.  A.s  they 
could  hardly  decide  in  whicli  partinilar  MicnilK-r  of  it 
the  demon  resided,  they  regarded  ali  with  equal  hhs- 
picion,  and  proceeded  to  wreali  their  vengeance  to  the 
Htt(M'most  upon  them  all. 

First,  accord'ug  to  the  usual  custom,  auonymous  let- 
tew  were  dropped  at  the  gate,  warning  the  family  to 
flee,  or  dire  would  be  the  consequences.  When  threats 
failed,  armed  with  an  order  from  the  court,  the  whole 
Tillage  appeared  on  the  scene  and  compelled  the  fam- 
ily to  flee  for  their  lives.  No  sooner  were  they  ont 
of  the  way  than  their  two  large  (cak  dwelling-hottws, 
with  rice-bins,  outhouses,  etc.,  were  torn  down  and  scat- 
tered piecemeal  over  the  lot.  Not  even  a  tree  or  shrub 
was  left  on  the  place.  To  gain  a  breathing-spell,  the 
family  moved  info  a  bamboo  shed  iiaslilv  extemporized 
on  the  banks  of  the  Jle  Ting,  some  two  miles  distant 
from  what  had  been  their  home.  By  some  accident 
lh"\  were  directed  to  our  mission.  They  had  learned 
that  the  King's  edict  protected  tlie  (Mirisf i.ins,  and, 
above  all,  that  the  Christian  religion  protected  them 
from  all  fear  of  evil  spirits.  And  so  they  came  to  see 
if  it  were  tme,  and  if  there  were  any  refuge  for 
them. 

Whatever  was  to  be  done  for  them  in  the  way  of 
earthly  succor,  must  evidently  be  done  quickly.  Their 
neighbours  in  their  temporary  refuge  would  doubtless 
soon  drive  them  away  again.   At  the  earnest  entreaty 


268  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
of  the  man  I  took  one  of  tlu-  .  hi.  is.  im.!  went  d.iwn  to 
l.H.k  int..  «h..  .ns.'  f..r  ...vsolf.    it  WUH  heurtrendmg. 
Wliutfver  they  hiul  Utu  iible  t..  Huutih  from  the  wreck 
of  a  well-to-do  home-bedn,  bedding,  furniture,  kit.luii 
uteuHil«— was  IicuikmI  up  in  a  pile  tl.al  .ovor.'.!  I  lie 
wlu.h'  ll.K.r  space  ..f  Hu'ir  shack.    The  great  giaud- 
Ui..ther,  helpk'HH  in  her  d..tage,  and  the  little  children, 
were  lying  here  and  there  wherever  a  siu.K.lher  spot 
could  be  foun.l.    Their  .  as.'  s.iMiie.l  aliiu.st  hopeless 
as  far  m  human  aid  was  oucerued.    Nan  Chaiwana 
had  hiuiBclf  api)ealed  for  aid  both  to  the  court  and  to 
the  governor,  aud  had  been  told  that  th.  re  was  nothing 
they  could  do  for  hiui.    The  court  was  c.immitteU 
againit  him.   The  goveruur,  however,  was  personally 
friendly  to  nn,  and  had  shown  no  111  will  towards  the 
man.   It  was  barely  possible  tliat  something  might 
be  accomplished  there.    We  all  had  worship  together 
amid  the  confusion  of  their  hut— the  first  Christian 
service  they  had  ever  attended.   They  assured  us  .)f 
their  joyful    ic.eptan.v  .tf  the  tiospel,  and  pl"dged 
obeuienee  to  all  its  teachings.    We  promised  to  do 
whatever  we  could  in  their  behalf,  and  returned  home. 

Ne.\  V  Mr.  Martin  and  I  went  down  to  Lampun 
to  .all  the  govorn.)r.  lie  was  not  at  home,  but  in 
the  ricetlelds  several  miles  out  in  the  country.  We  fol- 
lowed him  there.  He  received  us  kindly,  i.ut  said, 
"Were  I  to  make  pro.laniatiou  to  iMotect  that  family, 
it  would  be  impossible  lu  enforce  il.  Nearly  every- 
body in  that  neighbourhood  believes  that  the  bodies 
or  ashes  of  fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters,  or  chil 
dren  are  in  that  grav.nar.l,  si  ur  tiiere  by  the  demon  in 
that  family.  If  you  can  .1.  vise  s.)me  plan  to  protect 
them,  you  are  welcome  to  try  it ;  but  if  they  return 
to  that  village,  I  cannot  be  itsponsible  for  the  results." 


HTRlIOdLK  WITH  P<>\\  KRS  OF  DARKNESS  2ti9 


Wlu'ii  told  tliMf  tliry  hiid  now  rrnoiiiK  ctl  flic  Hpiritn, 
and  put  tbetUMi'lvcH  under  the  (iiTut  Spirit,  be  naid, 
That  ia  all  verj  well,  bat  bow  am  I  to  eoDTince  tbe 
othfTH  tlint  Ihcji  iiiv  snff?"  We  Hun  l>of^ed  that  he 
would  give  the  pluce  over  to  its.  We  wanted  a  place 
for  preacbinf;.  Wc  would  put  up  one  of  tbe  bouses 
and  estahllsli  n  Christ  Ian  fiinii'y  in  it,  with  medicine  to 
cure  their  fi'vcrs.  I  would  overHoe  it,  hut  would  nhk 
tbe  family  to  help  in  tbe  worlt.  To  this  be  readily 
consented.  We  trusted  his  promise,  and  we  returned 
onoourappil. 

A  few  eveninpR  later  1  arrivod  on  the  scene  with  our 
elder  and  nonie  other  ChriNtianN,  and  pitched  tcut  at 
the  edge  of  tbe  ricefleld,  a  hundred  yards  from  tbe 
deserted  lot,  to  enpape  in  a  contest  with  the  destroying 
demon.  It  was,  moreover,  a  crucial  contest  as  be- 
tween Christianity  and  demonism.  Our  whole  future 
work  in  that  province,  and,  to  a  large  extent,  through- 
out the  land,  dciK'rulcd  on  the  result.  Soon  curiosity 
brought  to  our  tent  the  bead  man  and  u  large  num- 
ber of  the  villagers.  We  spmt  the  evening  in  preach* 
inp  to  them.  When  asked  what  we  proposed  to  do 
with  the  situation,  we  explained  that  we  had  come 
to  take  possession  of  the  bouse  and  lot— the  governor 
had  given  it  over  to  tbe  mission  for  a  station.  It 
was  now  the  i)roperty  of  the  Christians,  over  whom  the 
spirits  bad  no  power.  It  was  to  be  dedicated  to  tbe 
Lord's  work,  and  we  even  asked  their  aid. 

Next  morning  we  began  work,  bringing  in  some  of 
I,'  e  men  of  the  outcast  fai.iil.v  to  assist  in  identifving 
and  feas.senibling  the  scattered  timbers  of  the  bouse. 
With  much  difficulty  bone  was  joined  to  bone,  and  tim- 
ber to  timber.  Tn  a  few  day«  sonic  of  the  villagers  of- 
fered to  be  hired  to  help.   One  or        women  of  the 


270  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

family  tame  <nor  to  cook  for  the  workmen.  Before 
long  one  house  was  set  up,  roofed,  and  floored ;  where- 
upon we  moved  up  into  it,  iind  invited  tl\f  neighbours 
to  attend  its  dedication  that  cvcuiug.  The  evening  was 
8pent  in  song  and  prayer  and  i  raise.  Many  came  up 
into  the  house.  More  listened  from  the  ground  below. 
We  had  given  quinine  to  the  fever  patients,  who  were 
glad  to  get  well  by  the  help  of  Christian  medicine. 
Meanwhile  the  epidemic  subsided,  and  the  worst  fears 
of  the  peojile  were  allayed. 

When  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  return  to  Chieng- 
raai,  I  left  the  elder  to  furnish  moral  support  to  the 
poor  outcasts,  who,  little  by  little,  came  back  to  their 
home,  and  iK^  anie  the  Thristian  fanii'y  which  we  had 
promised  to  establish  there.    To  save  the  land  from 
being  utterly  lost  to  him,  Nan  Chaiwana  had  mort- 
gaged it  lo  one  of  the  princes  for  the  trifling  sum  of 
one  hundred  rupees.    Not  trusting  to  the  prince's  un- 
selfishness, I  took  Nan  Chaiwana's  own  money,  paid  the 
mortgage,  and  with  some  regret  the  prince  released  the 
property  to  me.    Tims  was  it  all  restored  to  the  fam- 
ily.   Mr.  Martin  and  I  visited  the  station  as  often  as 
we  could.   It  became  an  interesting  centre  for  our 
work,  and  ultimately  grew  into  the  Bethel  church. 

While  I  was  engaged  in  this  work,  a  strange  thing 
was  doing  on  the  other  side  of  the  M«  Ping.  One  day 
a  man  came  in  from  the  "  I'.ig  Tamarind  Tree  Village  " 
t(,  tell  us  tliat  his  wlmlc  village  had  become  Christians, 
and  were  building  a  chapel.  When  it  was  finished,  he 
would  invite  us  to  come  down  and  indoctrinate  the 
people  in  llic  teachings  of  our  religion.  This  was  some- 
thing new,  and,  of  course,  most  interesting.  In  due 
time  the  man  came  to  Ghiengmai  to  inform  U8  that 


STRUGGLE  WITH  POWERS  OF  DARKNESS  271 


the  chapel  was  finished,  and  we  were  invited  to  go 
down,  take  possession,  dedicate  it,  and  teach  the 

people. 

On  the  following  Friday,  Mr.  Martin  and  I  took 
boat  and  went  to  the  village  landing,  w^here  we  sep- 
arated, be  gtiiiiR  east  to  receive  aud  baptize  tbc  con- 
verts in  the  *'  uew  boiiie  of  tbe  teacbeis,"  as  the  bouse 
at  Ban  Pto  long  was  called;  and  I  to  dedicate  the 
new  chaiH'l  at  tlie  "  P.ig  Taiiiariud  Tree  Village."  I 
found  the  cha[iel  there  all  ri<,'bt,  aiu'  tbe  whole  villaf^e 
assembled  to  velcoiue  tbe  teacher;  and,  apparently, 
like  the  audience  that  Peter  found  in  the  house  of 
Cornelius,  ready  "  to  hear  words  whereby  they  might 
be  saved."  The  chapel  was  built  mostly  of  bamboo, 
but  so  new  and  neat  that  I  complimented  the  villagers, 
and  expressed  my  great  delight.  After  our  reception, 
I  invited  them  up  into  the  chapel  for  worship,  and  be- 
gan by  announcing  a  hymn,  aud  inviting  them  to  join 
in  learning  to  sing  it ;  expecting,  with  my  assistant  and 
other  Christians  who  had  accompanied  me,  to  spend 
the  tin)e  in  teaching  them  what  Christianity  is;  pre- 
suming that  their  reception  of  it  was  a  foregone  con- 
clusion. 

But  .somehow  things  did  no<  seiMii  to  run  smoothly. 
I  was  conscious  of  being  in  a  wrong  atmosphere.  The 
leader  of  the  movement  seemed  ill  at  ease.  None  en- 
tered in  with  the  accustomed  zeal  of  new  converts.  My 
assistant  noticetl  the  same  thinfr,  and  whispered  in 
my  ear  that  something  was  wrong.  They  were  whis- 
pering to  him,  "Where  is  the  money?"  "What 
money?  "  "  Why.  the  fifty  or  one  hundred  rupees  that 
we  were  told  would  surely  be  forthcoming  to  every 
family  that  aided  in  the  building,  and  that  entered 
the  new  religion.   The  foreigners  are  rich,  and,  of 


2'2  AMONd  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

course,  will  I)*'  tU'ligbted  to  distribute  money  freely." 
The  leader,  of  course,  expected  the  lion's  share.  It 
had  all  been  a  mere  business  venture  uii  his  part  —or, 
rather,  a  swindle!  This  was  on  Satnnlay.  On  Mon- 
day morning  Mr.  Martin  and  I  met  at  the  boat  ac- 
cording to  agreement,  he  to  report  a  good  day  and 
the  baptism  of  ten  adults  ahmg  with  as  many  children, 
and  the  reception  of  a  number  of  catechumens;  and  I 
to  confess  how  I  had  been  sdhl. 

In  the  sun  ler  of  1S85  a  most  interesting  work  was 
started  in  some  villages  to  the  southwest  of  the  city. 
Onr  indefatigable  Nan  Ta  had  visited  that  region,  and 
many  had  itrofessed  iheir  faith.  Mr.  Martin  and  I 
both  responded  to  the  call,  and  made  a  number  of  visits 
there.  Two  chapels  wore  built  by  the  enquirers,  one 
at  Lawng  Kum,  and  one  at  Chrms  Kam.  1  (piote  the 
following  account  of  this  work  from  the  New  York  Ob- 
server: 

"  June  9th,  1885.— I  have  juat  returned  from  the  villages 
referred  to  in  my  last  letter.    I  found  twenty-two  families 
of  profes:,eJ  belicviT^  at  Lawiig  Iv.im  Chapel,  which  with 
the  aid  of  a  few  dollars  f'-Jiu  cl-^ewhere  they  had  suc- 
ceeded in  building.    Among  them  are  at  least  six  persona 
who  give  good  evidence  of  a  change  oi  heart,  and  the  rest 
are  interesting  enquirers.    Ten  miles  from  there,  at  ChBng 
Kam,  I  visited  by  invitation  auotla  r  e mil  any  who  had  re- 
nounced Buddhism,  and  who  call  themselves  Christian.^.  On 
arriving  there  a  roll  of  thirty-five  familir^  was  handed  me. 
Most  of  tlu'iu  had  atteipi,-<l  worship  at  times  in  tho  chapel  at 
Chioiiginai,  and  a  few  of  tbeiii  art.-  no  doubt  trur  Christians. 
Here  also  we  secured  a  native  house  for  a  el  -tin  l.  They 
contributed  a  part  of  the  small  sum  needed,  wh.I  ?  ni  this 
case,  as  in  the  other,  their  contribution  was  supplemented 
from  the  monthly  contributions  uf  the  church  in  Ohicngmui, 
Deputations  have  been  seut  also  from  places  still  further 


STRUGGLE  WITH  POWERS  OP  DARKNESS  273 


away,  representing  in  one  ciiso  twenty,  and  in  another  case 
twelre  families  enrolled  by  themselres,  with  others  only 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  a  teacher. 

"  It  is  probably  premature  to  predict  what  will  be  the 
result  of  ail  this.  The  simultaneousness  of  the  movement  in 
villages  thirty  or  forty  milra  apart  is  remarkable.  It  shows 
a  longing  for  something  they  have  not.  To  turn  this 
awakening  to  most  account,  we  need  more  help,  both  native 
and  foreign.  Mr.  Martin  enters  into  the  work  with  all  his 
zeal,  and  has  contributed  no  little  toward  keeping  up  the 
interest." 

Our  expectations  in  regard  to  the  work  at  Lawng 
Kum  were  aisappointed  mainly  by  removals  of  fam- 
ilies to  other  places.  The  chapel  in  f'hang  Kam  was 
burned  down  bv  incendiaries,  but  was  soon  replaced, 
and  the  village  has  continued  to  be  one  of  our  most 
importfJt  out-stations.  Its  people  have  recently 
[1010]  built  a  new  and  large  chapel,  and  will  soon 
be  organized  into  a  church.  One  zealous  man  in 
Ac  led  first  bis  own  family  and  then  his  neighbours 
into  the  faith,  till  they,  too,  have  now  a  chapel  built 
of  teak,  with  a  band  of  faithful  workers  to  worship 
in  it. 

Onr  first  visits  to  these  new  places  wore  intensely  in- 
teresting. It  seemed  as  if  the  Gospel  would  be  em- 
braced by  whole  villages.  But  the  burning  of  the 
chapel  tells  a  tale  of  a  strong  adverse  inflaence.  Op- 
position usually  drives  off  the  timid  and  the  merely 
curious.  The  lines,  then,  are  sharply  drawn,  and  the 
Christian  society  really  finds  itself. 

During  the  last  week  of  the  year  I  spent  a  few  days 
at  the  village  of  Me  Dawk  Deng  to  hold  a  copimunio? 
service  there,  and  incidentally  to  give  my  family  and 
the  teachers  of  the  Girls'  School  a  mnch-needed  outing. 
It  was  at  the  hei^t  of  the  rice-harvest,  and,  one  even- 


274  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


iug,  we  all  greatly  enjoyed  the  sight  of  ii  regular  rice- 
threshing  "  bee  "  at  the  farm  of  one  of  our  elders.  The 
"bee"  Is  always  at  niplit.  The  bundles  f>f  rice  from 
the  harvest  field  are  piled  up  so  as  to  form  a  wall  five 
feet  high  around  a  space  of  some  twenty-five  feet  square, 
with  an  opening  for  entrance  at  one  corner.  In  the 
centre  of  this  square  is  a  hctrizontal  frame  of  bamboo 
poles,  against  which  the  bundles  of  rice-heads  are 
forcibly  struck.  The  grain  falls  to  the  ground  below, 
and  the  straw  is  tossed  outside.  In  those  days  the 
wht>le  plain  at  rice-harvest  was  lighted  up  by  bonfires 
of  the  burning  straw — a  glorious  sight  as  I  have 
watched  it  from  Doi  SutSp. 

We  pitched  our  tent  neai'  by  to  enjoy  the  scene.  The 
men  and  boys  do  the  threshing,  while  the  women  and 
girls  do  the  cooking  for  the  feast  with  which  the  work 
ends.  The  vi!la<;e  maidens  are  always  on  hand  to  en- 
courage their  beaux  in  their  work  by  passing  to  them 
water  or  beiel-nut,  and  to  serve  the  viands  at  the  feast. 
It  reminded  me  much  of  the  husking  bees  I  had  se&i 
as  a  lad  in  the  South  seventy  years  ago.  How  near  of 
kin  is  all  the  world ! 

We  had  a  delightful  communion  service  on  the  Sab- 
bath. Seven  adults  and  six  children  weit;  baptized. 
On  Mond  'Porninp:  we  returned  home  refreshed  and 
better  prepared  for  the  work  before  us. 

The  year  had  I)een  one  of  marked  progress.  The 
Oirls'  School  had  been  strengtiiened  by  the  arrival  of 
Miss  Lizzie  Westervelt.  The  new  station  at  Lakawn 
bad  been  opened,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples  had  been 
installed  there.  More  new  work  had  been  oj)ened  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Chiengmai  and  Lampun  than  in 
any  one  year  of  the  history  of  the  mission.   One  hnn- 


MARKET  SCENE  IN  CHIENUMAI 


IN  THE  HARVEST  KIEI.U 


STRUGGLE  WITH  POWERS  OP  DARKNESS  275 
dred  and  two  adults  were  added  to  the  commnnion  roll, 
and  about  as  manv  children  were  baptized.   Our  new 
"witchcraft-house"  at  Ban  Ten,  with  its  hospitable 
family,  afforded  a  comfortable  prophet's  chamber  for 
the  missionaries  and  a  chai^l  for  worship.    The  Bethel 
church  was  afterwards  organized  in  it.   That  family 
became  highly  respected,  and  has  fomished  some  of 
the  most  inflnential  members  of  our  churdi.   The  work 
in  Nawng  Fan,  seven  miles  south  of  Chiengmai— Nun 
Inta's  village— had  steadily  grown.   It  still  continues 
to  be  one  of  our  best  out-stations,  and  will,  during  the 
present  year  [1910]  be  organized  into  a  church. 


XXV 


CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITIES  PLANTED 

THE  year  188(»  opened  auspiciously.  But  Mr. 
Martin  had  brought  malaria  in  his  system  from 
his  old  lioine;  iiiid  llie  f-fio  country  is  a  better 
j)lace  for  contractiug  the  infection  tlian  for  eradicat- 
ing it.  He  worlved  indefatifjatdy,  but  Reldom  with  a 
blood-temperature  down  to  the  normal.  In  .lannary 
he  accepted  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Could,  the  British 
Vite-ConBul,  to  accompany  him  on  a  tour  of  inspection 
through  the  northern  provinces,  hoping  that  the  change 
might  prove  lieneficial.  It  afforded,  moreover,  oppor- 
tunity for  some  missionary  work  in  places  seldom  or 
never  visited.  He  was  the  first  to  visit  the  MQsfl  vil- 
lages high  up  among  the  mountains.  He  baptized  a 
few  converts  in  <  'hieng  Sen,  and  reported  an  interest 
there  that  should  be  followed  up. 

About  this  same  time  KrQ  Nan  Ta— for  such,  though 
not  yet  ordained,  I  shall  in  future  call  him— returned 
from  Chieng  Kai  with  n  most  encnnraging  report  of 
developments  there.  Later  a  deputation  of  seven  men, 
with  T5o  Tepasing  as  their  leader,  came  to  us  from  the 
village  of  M6  Kawn  in  the  (Miicng  Kai  province, 
earnestly  entreating  a  visit  from  the  missionary.  In 
their  number  was  Pii  King  from  Chieng  Rai,  who  had 
been  a  notorious  bandit,  robber,  and  murderer.  He 
hac'  now  submitted  to  the  government,  and  was  given 
a  place  as  public  executioner  and  as  doer  of  other  jobs 
from  which  only  a  lawless  man  would  not  shrink.  Be- 

276 


CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITIES  PLANTED  277 

fore  meeting  Krfi  Niln  Tft,  he  had  gone  so  deep  in  sin 

that  no  liope  was  left  him,  and  he  JKHainc  liardened  in 
despair.  Unl  liis  oonscionro  was  ill  at  ease.  Hearing 
ruiuuurs  of  the  ("Uristiau  religion,  he  determined  that 
if  it  could  give  him  hope  of  pardon,  he  would  seek  it 
at  any  cost.  He  and  his  wife  walked  one  huudml  and 
ten  miles  to  see  if  it  wet-e  really'  true  that  Jesus  eould 
save  even  him.  Our  good  friend  the  governor  enconr- 
aged  his  coming,  and  said,  "  If  the  (Miristian  reli^jion 

can  make  a  k«'<»«1  ""'  l*^'""'  ' 

no  moi-e  doubts  of  its  truth  and  power. '    And  we  have 

no  donbt  that  it  did  that  very  thing. 

lu  a  few  days  Kru  Nan  Ta  and  I  returned  with  the 
party.  Elder  A  i  Tfl  of  Chieng  Bai,»  with  his  family, 
accompanied  us.  We  thus  had  quite  a  little  congre- 
gation to  worship  nightly  about  the  camp-flre,  and 
every  one  of  ''>e  party  was  either  a  CJhristian  or  an  en- 
quirer. T'  'i.s  my  third  trip  to  the  north,  and  the 
first  of  the  nual  trips  that  have  made  that  road  so 
familiar  to  me. 

The  little  colony  of  (Miristians  at  Wieng  Pa  Pao  was 
prospering.   One  of  them  was  the  man  whom  his  wife 
had  driven  off,  elephan+s  and  all,  for  witchcraft.  NSn 
Ta  reported  the  governor  of  the  place  as  a  believer. 
He  had  ceased  to  make  offerings  in  temples,  and  he 
ridiculed  the  idols.   He  received  ns  most  hospitably, 
and  desired  to  nave  a  missitm  station  there.  After- 
wards, however,  through  policy  and  the  influence  of 
a  Burmese  son  in  law,  he  resumed  his  old  worship; 
though  to  the  last  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  I  think,  he 
believed  our  teachinfjs  to  he  true.    In  the  case  of  sub- 
ordinate otti.  ials,  the  final  step  of  joining  the  church 
is  terribly  hard  to  take. 
» Afterwards  Praya  Pakdl. 


278  AMONG  THE  8IAME8E  AND  THE  hkO 

At  Ball  Toi,  "  Grandma  "  Tan  had  been  praying  day 
and  uif,'lit  for  our  eniiiinp;.  She  lived  some  distanee 
away  from  the  road,  and  feared  that  we  miglil  pass 
her  by.  She  was  overjoyed  to  see  ns,  and  we  had  to 
check  the  hoinafje  she  offered  us.  The  poor  woman  was 
sadly  in  need  of  support.  She  was  the  only  Christian 
in  the  place,  and  was  surrounded  by  hostile  neighbours 
who  absolutely  rebelled  against  her  establishing  herself 
in  llie  place.  Iler  family  had  renounced  the  spirits, 
and  therefore  her  "patriarch,"  to  whom  she  could 
rightly  look  for  protection,  became  her  chief  accuser. 
He  went  to  the  governor  of  Chieng  RSi  for  an  order 
forbiddinj;  her  to  settle  there.  Hut  he  had  his  thirty- 
mile  walk  for  his  trouble.  The  governor  told  him  that 
the  family  was  not  to  be  interfered  with.  How  could 
he  forbid  those  whom  the  King's  edict  allowed? 

Having  failed  with  the  governor,  they  tried  to  draw 
away  the  daughter  in  law.  But  she  said  she  would 
stick  by  her  husband  and  his  family.  Their  relifjion 
should  be  her  religion,  and  their  (lod  should  be  her 
God.  The  villagers  then  notitied  the  family  that  it 
would  be  held  responsible  for  the  value  of  any  buffalo 
or  elephant  that  might  die  in  the  village.  The  theory 
was  that  th"  demons  would  take  vengeance  on  the  vil- 
lage for  allowing  the  trespass  of  an  enemy  on  their 
domains.  But  all  their  efforts  to  shake  the  poor 
woman's  faith  were  futile. 

At  Mfi  Kawn  village,  from  which  the  delegation  had 
chiefly  come,  of  course  we  were  received  with  a  warm 
welconw.  On  the  receut  visit  of  Nun  Ta.  when  the 
leading  supporters  of  the  temple  became  Christians, 
thf  less  religious  families  also  deserted  it.  I  even  saw 
oxen  sheltered  from  the  rain  under  its  roof.  A  dub 
footed  man,  Noi  Taliya  by  name,  a  good  scholar  in 


CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITIKS  PLANTED  279 

Ngio,  UuruiCHo,  and  Lao,  had  been  the  life  o[  the  tem- 
ple. And  It  is  the  earnest  Baddhist  that  makw  the 
earnest  Christian.  His  st.n  first  lu  ard  the  (luspel.  and, 
((.iiiing  h.>m<',  explained  it  to  h\s  fjitlier.  Calling  his 
fiUiiily  together,  the  fatiier  Haid  to  tlieui,  "There  are 
the  spirit  ahrinea.  Any  one  may  have  them  who 
>visli.  s  to  continue  tlieir  worsliip."  N'»  one  making  a 
l.id  for  them,  a  bonfire  was  made,  and  the  once  valued 
treaHurcB  all  vanished  in  smoke.  When  he  went  to 
Chieng  Rfti  to  announce  his  conversion  to  the  kov 
cmor  and  to  the  Cparat,  he  said  that  he  prayed  all 
the  way  that  he  might  answer  their  questions  dis- 
creetly and  wisely.  He  did  not  know  that  the  gov 
ernor  had  no  more  coDfulence  in  bis  deserted  idols 
and  spirits  than  he  himself  had. 

On  the  evening  of  our  arrival,  the  largest  honse  in 
the  Tillage  was  filled  to  overflowing  till  late  in  the 
night.  liefore  Sunday  the  people  La('  extemporized  a 
chapel  which  afterwards  became  the  loun  ition  of  the 
M6  Kawn  chnrch.  Two  Sundays  were  spent  in  teach- 
ing these  people  before  we  moved  on  to  Chicng  Rrd, 
leavinR  the  new  disciples  under  the  oversight  of  Noi 
Taliya. 

On  reaching  Chieng  Rai  we  were  invited  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  take  up  our  (luarters  in  his  old  residence, 
which  we  did.  It  was  a  better  house  than  his  present 
one,  but  there  had  been  two  deaths  in  it,  and  it  was 
pronounced  unlucky.  He  knew  we  were  not  afraid 
of  ill  luck.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  very  good  luck 
that  we  got  it,  for  the  rains  were  now  falling  daily. 
The  governor  and  Nan  Tft  were  near  relatives  and  very 
intimate  friends  withal.  His  interest  in  us  was  as 
teachers  of  the  only  religion  that  ever  afforded  him  a 
rav  of  hope.   But  on  this  trip  Pu  King,  the  reformed 


280  AMONd  THi:  SIAMKSK  AN1»  TMK  LAO 


bandit,  and  his  family-,  were  I  lie  teiitre  of  our  interest 
there.  And  it  wan  not  long  before  he,  too,  like  Saul 
of  Tarsus,  became  a  striking  illnstration  of  the  grace 

of 

A  few  liours  beyond  Chieng  Rftl  on  the  road  to  Cliiens 
Sto,  was  the  home  of  ki  TO.   His  was  the  first  ChrlH- 

tian  family  in  the  province.  II''  Iiiid  imilt  in  i>iirt 
that  '\  uiinlit  furuif  h  a  gnesl  chaiulier  for  lite  iui»«ion 
ary  on  his  visits,  iuid  in  puit  that  it  might  serve  as 
a  chapel  for  worship— the  larpsi  Imnse  in  all  that 
neij;hln)urhi»od.  Wlicn  we  iiiriv(<i.  lie  lind  alrciKly  va- 
cated it  foi  us,  and  had  moved  his  family  down  into  a 
shed.  A  number  of  families  had  begun  to  attend  wor- 
ship, and  to  keep  the  Sal)l)ath;  but  wore  fritililened 
away  by  that  ridiculously  stale  story  that  missionaries 
were  making  <,'hristians  in  order  to  carry  them  off  In 
their  ships  to  feed  the  Yaks!  Htrange  that  such  a 
palpable  absurdity  should  deceive  any  one;  yet  we 
have  known  whole  villages  to  be  frighlentd  away  by  it. 

At  Chieng  8*n,  in  the  home  of  Nfta  Buwan,  we  were 
at  once  aware  of  U-ing  in  a  christian  atmosphere— in 
a  consecrated  (Jliristian  family.  That  family  was  a 
city  set  upon  a  hill— a  leaven  in  the  new  city  and 
province.  It  alone  had  given  Christianity  a  good 
name.  The  governnr  was  free  to  say  that  if  t'l.ris 
tlanity  made  such  men  as  Nun  Suwau,  he  would  like 
to  see  the  whole  <  mntry  Christian.  The  influence  of 
the  Girls'  School  iii  f-hienpimai  vas  strongly  reflected  in 
his  daughter,  Kul  Keo.  S'h-  lan-ilif  no  regular  sc'iool 
other  than  her  Sunday  School;  but  froni  time  to  time 
during  the  week  she  taught  the  neighbours.  Young 
men  who  began  by  trying  to  ridicule  licr  out  of  licr 
religion,  now  treated  her  with  the  greatest  respect. 
We  were  lold  that  rude  young  fellows  singing  vulgar- 


CBBI8TIAN  COMMUNITIES  PLANTED  281 

RongB  would  lower  their  roicm  whm  putising  by  the 
house. 

\\  v  t  ioHscd  the  river  In  a  small  bout  to  Hiwnd  a  few 
duyH  iu  tuuiliiug  four  new  families  of  Chrlatiana  on 
the  eaBt<>m  aide.  One  of  tte  men  wai  Tflo  Knt,  the 
vil'.ijic  onifcr.  aud  aiuttlitT  was  son,  N'oi  Thai.  The 
iutU'i'  iK'came  un  iutlueutiul  ruling  elder,  uud,  like  Nuu 
Huwan,  one  of  the  pillnm  of  the  church. 

From  Chieag  S«"n  \vf  crossed  the  broad  iirairic  like 
plain  westward  t(.  Han  Tain.  The  oBlcer  of  the  village 
was  Seu  Yu  Wichui- lueutioned  in  the  early  part  of 
this  narrative  aa  the  very  flrat  believer  in  Chlengmal. 
The  journey  was  one  of  the  worst  for  tdephants  that 
I  ever  made.  Heavy  raiUH  had  soalied  the  ground  so 
that  at  every  step  it  seemed  almost  imp<M8ibIe  for 
them  to  pall  their  hujje  feet  out  »)f  their  tracks.  The 
Sell  lived  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  a  remarkable 
feature  of  the  ujouutaiu  ridge.  The  Tam,  the 
largest  river  in  the  plain,  flows  bodily  ont  from  under 
the  monutain,  uiueh  as  does  one  of  the  sources  of  the 
Me  I'iuK  at  Chieug  Duo. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  spend  a  Sunday  with  our 
now  venerable  Christian  and  his  family.  It  was  a  fam 
ily  of  oflicers.  his  three  sons  all  being  either  •)f  the 
grade  of  Tao  or  of  rifin— which  shows  the  esteem  in 
which  the  family  was  held.  But,  unfortunately,  their 
oflinal  position  made  it  more  difficult  for  the  sons  to 
follow  the  example  of  their  father. 

On  Sunday  night  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents, 
remindlrg  us  that  it  was  better  for  us  to  be  at  home. 
We  started  homeward  early  the  riext  morning.  Our 
route  skirted  the  beautiful  mountain  range,  crossing 
brooks  and  the  larger  streams  of  the  M6  Tam  and  the 
M6  Chan.   Already  the  road  bad  become  almost  im- 


282  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


passable  excopt  for  elephants  and  natives  unencuL^- 
bered  with  shoes  or  trousers. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  great  mortality  in- 
curred in  the  attempt  to  people  these  new  Lao  states. 
Occasionally  the  straggling  remnant  of  a  family  might 
be  seen  returning.  One  poor  little  boy  awakened  my 
deepest  sympathy.  All  of  his  family  had  died  except 
himself  and  his  brother,  a  monk,  who  were  trying  to 
save  themselves  by  flight  back  to  their  old  home  in 
the  province  of  Chiengmai.  After  I  passed  them  I 
began  to  wonder  whether  the  pale,  weary  faced,  and  ex- 
hausted travellers  would  ever  reach  the  rest  they 
sought.  Then  I  began  io  think  that  here  I  was  enact- 
ing again  the  old  tale  of  the  priest  and  the  Levite 
who  passed  by  on  the  other  side.  .\t  last  I  could  stand 
it  no  longer.  I  stopped  and  waited  for  them  to  come 
up.  I  offered  the  pitifnl  little  skeleton  of  a  boy  a  seat 
with  me  on  the  back  of  the  elephant.  At  first  he  some- 
what distrusted  my  motive,  wondering  what  I  wanted 
to  do  with  him;  but  he  was  too  weary  to  refuse.  When 
he  revived,  he  proved  to  be  a  veritable  little  chatterbox, 
and  good  company.  I  kept  him  nearly  a  week,  till  we 
entered  the  Chienguua  plain  at  Doi  Saket.  Only  four 
years  ago,  eleven  children  out  of  five  Christian  fam- 
ilies who  had  settled  in  Wieng  Pa  PSo,  died  during 
the  first  year. 

Keturning  through  Chieng  Rai,  we  revisited  the  new 
families  of  Christians  in  that  province.  In  the  city  the 
governor's  wife  asked  us  to  have  worship  in  their 
new  house,  to  which  they  reverently  listened.  When 
we  ended  she  said,  "  Why,  they  pray  for  everybody ! " 
pa  King,  the  ezecotioner,  was  holding  on  with  a  deatb- 
grip  to  Ihe  hope  of  salvation  for  the  chief  of  sinners. 
The  case  of  the  apostle  himself,  and  of  the  penitent 


CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITIES  PLANTED  283 


tliiof,  yrciUly  eucouraged  Liiii.  Nfm  Tfi  also  was 
greatly  rejoiced  that  his  brother  Sfin  Kat  became  a 
believiT  ou  this  ti»nr. 

On  my  return  J  f<  n:!  Mr.  Martin  but  little,  if  at  all, 
improved,  by  h'  'n[».  Ilo  wf's  so  thoroughly  discour- 
aged that  he  f< 't  that  hv  ^■^  i  not  face  another  liot 
season.  He  rei  •  i  !f]  v.il'.i  i:  ;  till  the  end  of  the  rainy 
season,  and  thtii,  ..itL  '^i';  family,  left  Siam  for  the 
United  States.  I  never  had  felt  so  thoroughly  crushed 
as  I  was  at  his  departni-e.  Durinp:  three  whole  years 
we  had  lived  in  the  same  house,  and  worked  together 
hand  in  hand  in  the  evangelist)?  work,  of  which  he  was 
very  fond. 

Dr.  (Mieek  already  had  severed  his  official  connection 
with  the  mission,  and  had  gone  into  business  of  his 
own.  But  he  kindly  gave  his  professional  service  to 
the  missionaries,  and  was  ready  to  perform  pressing 
snigical  operations  for  the  natives  who  came  to  the 
hospital. 

1  have  often  wondered  whether  all  foreign  missions 
have  as  many  and  as  rapid  alternations  of  sunshine 
and  shadow,  as  the  L^o  misgion.  Our  medical  work 
was  once  more  at  a  standstill;  and  by  the  departure 
of  Mr.  Martin,  the  evangelistic  work  again  was  crip- 
pled. But  at  Hong  Kong  Mr.  Martin  met  He  v.  and 
Mrs.  D.  O.  Collins,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  A.  M.  Cary,  and  Rev. 
W.  t)odd,  on  their  way  out  for  the  Lao  missior  with 
Kev.  W.  <  Met 'lure  for  Lower  Siam.  Mrs.  Cary  had 
become  .  )  exhausted  by  continual  sea-sickness  during 
the  whole  voyage,  that,  on  her  arrival  in  Bangkok, 
many  thonght  her  unable  to  emlure  the  long  river 
trip  of  six  or  seven  weeks.  Mr.  McClure  offti-ed  to 
exchange  fields  with  the  Carys;  but  Mrs.  Cary,  with 


284  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


true  pluck,  said  that  she  had  been  appointed  to  the 
Lao  mission,  and  to  the  Lao  slie  would  go.  Bat,  alas! 
it  was  to  be  otherwise.  She  became  worse  soon  after 
leaving  Bangkok.  On  Sunday,  January  Itith,  1887,  a 
mile  above  Rahtog,  she  became  unconscious,  and 
shortly  after  gently  passed  into  her  everlasting  rest. 

It  was  still  a  month's  journey  to  their  destination. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  lay  the  body 
to  rest  in  the  grounds  of  a  monastery.  Who  can  por- 
tray that  parting  scone,  or  adequately  sympathize  with 
the  bereaved  husband  and  sister  (Mrs.  Collins),  or  with 
the  other  members  of  the  party,  as  they  performed  the 
last  sad  officii,  and  then  resumed  their  lonesome  jour- 
ney ! 

When  the  party  reached  Chiengmai  on  the  17th  of 
February,  they  found  there  only  the  McGilvarys,  Miss 
Griflan,  and  Miss  Westervelt.  Miss  Cole  had  goue  to 
Hangkok.  I'.ut  the  Girls'  School  was  nourishing  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  two  ladies  last  mentioned. 
Former  pupils  of  the  school  were  th«i  doing  good 
service  in  three  different  i-  ivinces  as  teachers.  But 
the  arrival  of  the  new  forces  made  possible  for  the  first 
time  a  Boys'  High  School.  Circumstances  now  were 
much  more  favourable  than  they  were  when  Mr.  Wil- 
son made  the  attempt  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  mis- 
sion. We  now  had  Christian  patrons,  and  there  was  a 
growing  desire  in  the  land  for  education.  Buddhist 
pupils  were  willing  and  anxious  to  attend  our  school. 
Mr.  Collins  preferred  the  educational  work.  As  soon 
as  he  acquired  the  language  suflBciently  well,  he  was 
put  in  charge  of  the  school  for  boys,  and  it  was  soon 
crowded  with  jnipils 

Mr.  Dodd's  preference  was  along  the  line  of  a  Train- 
ing School  for  Christian  workers.   Happily,  the  taste 


CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITIES  PLANTED  285 

and  preference  of  both  these  men  were  along  the  linos 
of  greatest  need.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Dodd  entered  into 
the  evangelistic  work  also  with  a  zeal  that  has  never 
abated.  As  newcomers  see  things  with  different  eyes, 
it  is  always  interesting  to  get  their  first  impressions* 
Mr.  Dodd's  first  experience  is  thus  given  in  a  letter 
to  the  Board  of  Jane  9th,  1887: 

"On  Friday,  June  3d,  Rev.  D.  McQilvary  of  the  LBo  mis- 
sion left  Chiengmai  by  boat  for  a  tour  soutlnvard,  taking 
attendants  and  all  necessary  equipments,  accompanied  by  a 
raw  recruit,  and  three  efficient  native  helpers.    We  arrired 
at  our  first  station  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  and 
before  bed-time  held  religious  conversation  with  as  many  en- 
quirers as  time  r^ould  permit.    Our  audience  chamber  was 
the  house  of  one  of  our  newly-receired  members.    Our  '  out- 
ward and  ordinary  means'  of  attracting  an  audience  was  a 
watch,  two  mariner's  compasses,  a  magnifying  glass,  a  stereo- 
scope with  an  assortment  of  views,  and  a  violin.    The  raw 
recruit  played  the  violin,  and  tiius  called  the  audience  to- 
gether.   We  used  both  the  other  attractions  to  hold  them 
and  to  gain  their  confidence  and  interest;  and  afterwards 
Dr.  McGilvary  easily  and  naturally  drew  them  into  rrlifrious 
conversation.    Soon  the  conversation  became  a  monologue 
of  instruction  in  the  religion  of  the  great  God.    The  violin 
was  no  longer  needed  to  arouse  or  sustain  an  interest 
Every  day,  and  late  into  the  evening,  the  Doctor  and  the 
three  assistants  conversed;  sometimes  to  quite  an  audience 
sometimes  to  individual  enquirers.  * 
"The  religious  attitude  of  the  people  was  a  revelation  to 
the  newly-arrived  missionary,  and  doubtless  would  be  to 
most  of  God's  people  in  the  United  States.    Nearly  all  of 
these  people  had  heard  of  the  TeliKion  of  the  great  God' 
but  knew  nothing  about  it,  since  the  district  had  never  be- 
fore been  visited  by  a  missionary.  ...  But  their  recep- 
S'^iL-T"   "/"'^"""s-   ■    •    •   Without   exception  these 
Buddhists  confessed  at  the  outset,  or  were  soon  brought 
to  concede,  the  ■mmeasurable  superiority  of  Christianity 
Many  said.  '  It  is  of  no  use  to  argue.  Your  books  tell  tb^ 


28G  AM(»N(;  TUE  SIAMIv^K  AM)  TlIK  LAO 


beginnings  of  things;  ours  do  imt.'  On  nno  occasion  when 
Dr.  McGilvary  had  finished  read i tip  and  cxiilainitifr  thf  first 
chapter  ■>f  dencsis,  one  of  his  auditors  rcmarktM]  to  liis  fel- 
lows, '  There  is  more  real  information  on  that  one  page  than 
in  all  Buddha's  writings.'  The  sense  of  sin  is  universal,  so 
too  is  the  insiiiJicicncy  of  the  works  of  tip  -it.  Many  snd 
souls  confessed  that  they  had  long  been  dreading  the  peiiaity 
for  sins  for  which  they  feared  that '  merit-making '  could  not 
atone. 

"  The  results  wo  cannot  measure.  We  were  absent  two 
weeks.  Religious  service  or  conversations  were  lield  in  inoro 
than  twenty  different  homes,  and  in  some  of  these  several 
times.  Audiences  varied  from  a  sinfjlo  emiuirer  to  fifty. 
Thus  hundreds  heard  the  gospel  for  tlie  first  time.  Many 
who  seemed  aborc  the  suspicion  of  hypocrisy  professed  to 
believe  and  accept  what  they  heard.  .  .  .  One  principal 
reason  for  this  tour  just  now,  was  to  baptize  in  his  own 
home  and  among  his  subjects  the  chief  officer  of  the  district. 
Himself,  his  wife,  and  his  whole  family  were  baptized — a 
most  interesting  household.  The  alil'Ot  ot  one  village  mon- 
astery professes  to  accept  Christianity.  For  some  time  he 
has  been  sending  his  parishioners,  including  his  own  sister, 
for  instruction.  There  is  another  district  officer  of  the 
same  rank  as  our  newly-baptized  convert,  a  constant  visitor 
and  deeply  interested.  This  is  a  specimen  Umr,  neither  bet- 
ter nor  worse  than  th'^  average  taken  these  days.  For  the 
last  two  years,  although  most  of  the  time  there  have  been 
but  two  ordained  missionaries  in  the  field,  over  ninety  as- 
ee~-ions  have  been  made  to  the  First  Church." — Church  at 
Home  and  Abroad,  May,  1888. 

Before  the  short  trip  reported  by  Mr.  Dodd,  1  had 
taken  a  longer  one  to  the  northern  provinces,  going 
over  the  same  ground  which  Mr.  Martin  and  I  had 
travelled  the  .season  before.  This  time  I  hantized  thir- 
ty-six adults  and  thirty-two  non-communing  members. 
The  commnaion  was  administered  eight  times.  I  mar- 
ried two  oonples  and  ordained  one  elder.  Each  Sunday 
was  spent  in  villages  where  there  were  already  Chris- 


CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITIES  PLANTED  287 


tiaiis.  This  ('ncniinii^iii;,'  siitross  wits  the  harvest  of 
seed  sown  on  former  tours,  but  gathered  largely 
through  God's  blessing  on  the  work  of  faithful  elders. 
Both  in  Chieug  Kai  and  in  Chieng  Sen  we  uiit^ht  (hen 
have  organized  eliunhcs  wi(h  a  f^oodly  uuiiiher  of 
members  communing  and  non -oommuning,  and  with 
very  good  material  for  officers.  NSn  Snwan  at  Chieng 
S("ii,  like  myself,  never  had  (he  gift  of  (luent  speech, 
but  his  reputation  for  sterling  integrity  has  left  a 
raark  that  eloquence  might  envy.  And  Ai  TQ  at  Nfing 
Le  bids  fair  to  be  another  power  in  the  province  of 
Cliieni?  Rai.  IJoth  of  them  are  stronn;ly  aided  by  their 
daughters,  the  lirst-fruits  of  our  Girls'  School. 

During  the  year  1887  the  whole  number  of  adult  ac- 
cessions was  one  hundred  and  seven;  and  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  non-communing  members  were  added 
to  the  roll,  making  two  hundred  and  eighteen  addi- 
tions to  onr  little  flock,  exclusive  of  Lakawn.  As  I 
now  look  back  over  tliese  \ears,  it  is  plain  to  me  that 
the  great  lack  of  the  mission  all  the  way  through  has 
been  the  lack  of  well-trained  native  helpers;  and 
for  this  lack  the  mission  itself  is  largely  to  blame. 
Those  who  arc  eafj'^r  to  aCv-omplish  the  evanj^eiization 
of  the  world  within  the  pi-esent  gene-  'ition,  should  first 
of  all  lay  hold  of  the  present  generation  of  Christians 
in  every  mission  field.  Fill  these  with  enthusiasm, 
qualify  them,  and  send  them  forth,  and  we  have  a 
lever  that  will  lift  the  world. 

From  the  Report  of  the  Board  in  the  same  number 
of  The  Church  nt  Home  and  Abroad  cited  above,  we 
quote  the  following: 

"  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples  are  still  left  alone  in  Lakawn,  the 
utmost  picket  of  the  foreign  missionary  line.  Mis.  Peoples 
has  not  one  lady  for  a  companion;  and  the  doctor  is  dan- 


288  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


porously  Imrdonod.  beariiip  nil  iilono  tho  labour  of  teaching 
and  hoaling.  Tor  inorc  tlian  two  yours  thoy  have  been 
waiting  for  help.  No  station  under  tho  oaro  of  the  Foreign 
Board  ealla  so  loudly  for  reinforcements  as  this.  Again 
and  aKuiii  we  thought  we  had  found  a  Christian  couple  for 
Lakawii;  but  in  each  case  wo  have  loi  n  disHi)i)ointod.  SIdkIo 
men  could  have  been  sent,  but  it  is  very  much  to  be  desired 
that  the  new  missionary  going  there  should  be  married. 
Dr.  Peoples'  niodioal  work  has  won  for  hiin  increasing 
friendliness  throughout  the  city.  .  .  .  Mrs.  McOilvary  has 
revised  the  Lao  version  of  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  has  trans- 
lated for  the  first  time  about  half  of  the  book  of  Acts. 
The  Scriptures  have  had  considerable  circulation  among  the 
Lao,  but  only  in  the  Siamese  tonRuo.  ...  Dr.  Cary  had 
no  sooner  reached  tho  field  than  tlirougli  tiie  assistance  of 
Dr.  McGilvary  and  Norwood  Mo(iilvary,  a  young  lad.  act- 
ing as  interpreters,  he  was  able  to  begin  work  with  regular 
hours  for  receiving  patients,  and  for  surgical  practice.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Collins  has  made  a  beginning  in  the  much-nee^ 
school  for  boys. 

"  Only  one  other  mission  now  under  the  care  of  our 
Presbyterian  Church  has  during  the  last  year  shown  as  much 
growth,  in  proportion  to  the  missionary  force  employed,  as 
tho  Lao  mission.  .  .  .  It  is  never  out  of  place  to  remind  our 
Presbyterian  Church  that  it  is  to  her  alone  that  God  haa 
committed  the  eTaugelization  of  the  Lfio  tribes." 


XXVI 


A  FOOTHOLD  IN  LAMPCn 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  shortly  before  the 
L\  opening  of  the  year  1888,  a  committee  consist- 
^  ing  of  Dr.  Peoples,  Mr.  Dodd,  and  myself,  was 
ajtpolnted  to  orj^anizc  two  (linrclips,  ono  in  Chienp  S^n 
and  one  in  Chieng  Rui,  if  the  way  were  found  open 
to  do  so.  We  also  arranged  that  Mrs.  McQilvary 
should  accompany  our  son  Norwood  as  far  as  Bang- 
kok on  his  way  to  the  United  ij^tates.  And  both  ex- 
peditions were  to  start  on  the  same  day,  Monday, 
Pebmary  7th. 

To  e.Tso  somewhat  the  strain  of  such  a  nartinp;,  I 
took  an  earlier  leave,  and  went  on  Saturday  with  Mr. 
Dodd  to  spend  Sunday  with  the  church  at  M£  Dawk 
D£ng.  That  evening  we  performed  a  marriage  cere- 
mony in  the  church.  The  next  day  thirteen  adults  were 
received  into  the  church — nine  by  baptism  and  four 
who  were  children  f  the  church.  On  Monday  Mrs.  Mc- 
Gilvary  and  I  exchanged  our  last  good-byes  by  note, 
and  both  parties  got  oflE  on  Tuesday  morning.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Peoples,  starting  from  Lakawn,  made  the  first 
stage  of  their  journey  separately  from  us  to  a  ren- 
dezvous at  the  Christinn  village  of  M6  Kawn,  twelve 
miles  south  of  Chieng  Kui. 

At  our  next  Christian  village  another  wedding  was 
waiting  for  us,  but  the  course  of  true  love  did  not  run 
smooth.   The  bride  belonged  to  a  well-to-do  Christian 

389 


290  AMOXC  Tin:  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

family  ;  Iml  no  number  of  it  rould  read  Ihe  Scriplnres. 
They,  therefore,  "redeemed"  a  Christian  family  for 

four  hundred  rupees.  !n  unler  to  senire  tlie  services  of 
the  son  as  a  sort  of  Levite  iu  the  family,  and  to  teaeh 
the  eldest  daughter  to  read.  Naturally,  the  t\v«»  young 
people  fell  in  love  wiili  t  .ieli  oilier.  Tliat  was  a  cnn- 
tinfjeney  the  mother  liiid  not  planned  for.  and  a  dif 

ficuity  arose.    She  asked,  "  If  1  take  Nan  for  a 

son-in-law,  where  do  my  four  hundred  rupees  come  In?  " 
It  was  all  in  vain  to  tell  her  that  she  tjot  Ihm-  |.ay  in 
a  r^oad  son  in  law.  8he  said  lie  was  her.s  already  till 
his  del)t  was  paid.  At  last  she  so  far  relented  as  to  al- 
low the  ceremony  to  take  place,  hut  she  would  not  see 
it  performed.  We  invited  the  father  and  tlie  rest  of 
the  family  and  the  neighbours  into  our  tent,  where, 
to  their  gieat  joy,  the  two  were  made  man  and  wife. 
The  imphuabh'  — <dher  lived  to  see  that  she  had  not 
made  a  bad  1  ic:     ..  after  all. 

At  Me  Kawn  we  were  joined  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peo- 
ples, and  we  had  a  good  Sabbath  with  the  little  flock 
there.  Our  elub  fo(»ted  man  bad  looked  after  it  well, 
and  be  beeame  later  a  good  elder  and  a  tine  diseipli- 
tariau.  About  thii  ime  I  was  taken  with  a  severe  at- 
tack of  indigestion  from  which  I  did  not  recover  for 
numy  months — the  only  continued  sickness  from  which 
I  have  sullered  in  all  my  connection  with  the  Lao 
mission. 

On  reaching  Chieng  RSi,  we  found  our  good  friend 
the  governor  mourning  the  death  of  his  wife,  the  same 
who,  when  we  last  saw  her,  invited  us  to  worship  in 
her  house.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  point  the  bereaved 
man  to  the  divine  t'omforter.  and  we  are  fain  to  be- 
lieve that  our  words  were  not  in  vain.  He  was  still 
anxious  to  have  the  mission  station  established,  which 


A  FOOTHOLD  IN  LAMPON 


291 


wc,  unfnrtnnately,  could  not  jet  promiBe.   The  Ohao 

r|i;irrit  iiivit»'«i  Dr.  Peoples  t<»  lecture  with  hiH  ma^c 
hititi'in,  and  ti>  liiive  worsiiip  ii>  lii8  residence,  whei-e  we 
had  a  cr(»\vde<l  audieine.  We  did  not  organi/.e  a 
church  in  Chicnft  Rili.  however,  partly  because  the  two 
Christian  villafjcs.  e<i'iidistant  from  the  city  north 
an«l  youth,  could  uol  agive  ou  llie  best  jdace  of  meet- 
ing. But  we  found  the  wa3'  ojien  in  Chieng  8te,  and 
did  organize  a  ciuirch  tiifre,  iu  Nan  Suwau".s  house, 
on  the  verv  bank  of  the  Me  Kon^.  and  with  one-half  of 
its  nienilKirs  living  ou  the  ether  shore. 

Dr.  PeopleH  had  left  a  large  practice  in  Laltawn,  and 
was  olilijicd  (o  ri'tinn.  Mr.  Dndd  returned  with  them 
to  Lakawu,  aud  thence  to  Chienguiai.  1  hud  come  un- 
trammelled, to  remain  as  long  as  duty  called.  It  Heemed 
very  desirable  to  follow  up  the  impressioUH  already 
made  on  that  eommuuit.v.  lJut  I  was  not  well,  and  a 
week's  delay  louud  me  no  better.  Thinking  that  a 
change  might  be  beneficial,  I  crossed  the  plaiu  to  Sto 
Y&  Wichai's  home  at  the  foot  of  the  monntaina.  It 
was  a  hard  day's  ride,  and  I  became  worse  on  the  way. 
On  reaching  my  destination  I  could  hardly  stand, 
Besting  there  on  my  back  a  few  days  without  improve- 
ment, it  seemed  my  first  duty  to  f;et  to  a  physician  as 
soon  as  possible,  or,  at  least,  make  the  effort  to  do  so. 
Most  of  the  way  I  could  stop  at  night  either  with  or 
near  Christian  families.  This  I  did,  and  so  reached 
Chicnf^mai  on  .Vpril  1 1th. 

During  my  absence  the  building  of  the  Boya'  Hi|^ 
Bchool  was  completed  ;and  the  school  was  opened  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Collins  on  March  10th,  with  an  en- 
rollment of  forty-flve  boys,  nearly  all  children  of  Chris- 
tian parents.  In  June  Dr.  Wilson  reached  Chiengmai 
on  bis  return  from  the  United  States;  and  with  him 


293  AM(tN<i  Tin:  siAMi:si;  .wn  Tvr,  i.ao 


came  Mi«H  riwsoii,  (k-xtiutHl  with  (ho  iMtt  tur  (o  join  the 
F^plcfl  at  Lakawn,  and  Mim  Belle  Eakin  (now  Mn. 
Dodd),  for  the  iVirW  Kt  hool  in  chiengmal.  MiM  Grif- 
fin was  iiln'inlv  poneou  Iht  furlough. 

Till-  building  Tor  the  (iirlH'  School  had  long  been 
in  prorem  nf  oontitruction.  Hnildeni  and  plans  had 
Ikh'Ii  scvc'iiil  liiiu's  cliiiu^'t'd,  till  iit  li\st  i)r.  CliccU  took 
the  c'untnu  l,  ami  (luisln'tl  it  iu  the  suiiimer  of  1888.  It 
hflR  Hprved  its  purpose  admirably  the«e  many  yeara,  and 
we  theu  thought  it  wniiM  dn  for  all  time.  But  thoiifrh 
llic  Int  tlicii  scciiu'd  ;miiil.v  iiir;;(',  it  proves  now  entirely 
too  small  for  the  neetls  of  the  sehocd.  Moivover,  it  is 
impoHHlble  to  enlarge  It.  On  it»  nouth  Bide  runs  the 
most  travell<*d  road  in  the  eountry;  \v!>ile  on  the  east 
the  land  is  owned  by  u  wealthy  official,  who  would  not 
sell  at  any  prioo. 

Our  congregations  had  grown  till  a  church  building 
became  a  neeessity  e^•en  more  nrpent  than  a  school- 
house.  The  tirst  mission  dwelling-house  was  planned 
in  part  with  reference  to  such  need,  its  largest  room 
long  beinj;  used  U>v  Sunday  worsliip.  Then  a  small 
l('m|>orary  eliapel  took  its  After  tiiat  a  larger 

teak  (hiuble  dwelliug  was  bought.  That,  however, 
would  not  hold  more  than  two  hundred  persons — not 
more  than  half  of  our  hnm'sl  eonfj^regatious  at  the 
present  day.  Then  for  a  time  we  worshipited  in  the 
unfinished  building  for  the  Girls'  School.  When,  at 
last,  that  was  finished,  it  was  needed  for  its  original 
purpose,  and  we  ajrain  must  move.  It  was  then  de- 
cided that  we  must  have  a  ihurtli,  aud  oue  worthy  of 
our  cause — such  as  would  attract  rather  than  repel 
both  rulers  and  in'oplo.  So  one  Sii  iday  afternoon  we 
held  a  meeting  of  th'  mgrega'ion  t«»  take  steps  for 
building  it.  We  wetv  delighted  to  see  the  interest 


A,  FOOTHOLD  IN  LAMPON  2M 


manifeRted  in  the  enterprlne.  Pa  Kawnff,  an  aged 
glave  of  the  Vvim  t;  laid  «li>\vii  ;i  silvi  r  nipi't',  wliu  li 
was  all  the  money  she  pdsseHsetl  and  il  w,,.-i  the  very 
first  luouey  ifeeived  townrd  tlie  huilding.  The  t-hnrch 
was  completed  by  the  end  uf  tbii  year. 

We  h:nl  <  niiliinit'd  cv  i(h'in  e  of  the  fri"ud»iiiilt  of 
I'liuce  lutamm,  aud  eveu  of  his  giowivifj  iat*«*«t  in 
our  work.  One  rtonday,  in  answer  to  an  isvitatleA 
given  by  Mi-h.  ('heek,  ht-  jiMt-iided  "ur  umiuiiniou 
sf'i  vii  f,  ( (iiidiu  t(  .1  tlii\t  (lav  l>v  Mr.  \Vii^>n  AlthoUKh 
he  arrived  au  hour  aud  a  half  t<M)  sooo,  ue  n  luaiued 
all  through  the  long  service,  and  bowt^d  m  h«;  took 
bia  leave,  just  wlini  the  coiniininioii  tui>-.  'mk  iliont 
to  be  passed.  On  lh»  day  of  our  daughter  s  marriage 
in  Btatesville,  North  (  arolina,  he  and  the  O;  <^ura- 
misaioner  attended  u  rel^'I^tion  iriven  in  bou< 
event.  Tlie  Prince  had  known  lier  as  a  child.  -Mid 
seemed  muck  interested.  "  Is  it  tins  very  night  that 
the  marriage  takes  place? "  he  asked.  The  reception 
was  a  very  pleasant  affair.  Tlp.ii!;h  niv  wile  w.i^  still 
in  ISaUfrkok,  .Miss  Flc<'son  aud  Miss  lOakiu  entei'ed  with 
all  their  hearts  into  the  thing,  aud,  with  the  assistance 
of  Mr.  Dodd  and  Mr.  Collins,  carried  it  ihr.njgh  in 
splendid  shape.  Aflei-  n-freshments  we  had  t  liarades 
and  other  games.  It  was  amusing  to  see  the  look  of 
snrpri^  on  the  face  of  the  Prince  when  the  charades 
were  played.—"  What  are  they  doing?  '  "  What  does 
that  mean?"  "I  tl'Ut  understand."  Hut  the  game 
was  quite  too  recondite  to  !»•  explained  to  him.  So, 
after  the  first  chara^,  His  Highness  and  his  party  too'i 
their  leave,  assuring  us  tbat  they  had  enj^ed  the  «w  o- 
ing  very  much. 

Dr.  Wilson  and  Miss  Ple«ion  presently  journeyed  OiJ 
to  their  p«8t  at  l^kawn.   Tte  governor  there  gave  the 


294  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


mission  a  very  desirable  plot  of  ground  for  the  new 
bnildings  which  would  be  retjuired,  saving,  "  I  am  glad 
to  have  you  come.  It  would  be  a  shame,  when  you 
come  to  live  in  oar  country,  if  the  government  did  not 
do  somethinjj;  to  make  you  comfortable." 

Scarcely  loss  important  than  the  opening  of  the 
new  station  in  Laka^^n,  was  the  opening  of  permanent 
work  in  Laniptin,  the  largest  and  most  important  sub- 
station of  (Miiongmai.  Lainpun  is  a  little  gem  of  a 
walled  city  in  the  same  great  plain  as  Chiengmai,  and 
only  eighteen  miles  distant  to  the  south.  From  the 
first  settlement  of  the  country,  however,  it  has  been 
a  separate  state,  yet  governed  by  a  branch  of  the  same 
ruling  race. 

We  have  seen  that  the  new  governor  of  Lampun  was 
friendly  to  the  mission  and  the  missionaries.  The 
opening  of  the  work  in  Bun  Pen  and  other  important 
villages  near  it,  i-endered  it  almost  essential  to  have  a 
footing  in  LampGn  itself.  After  some  negotiation  we 
secured  a  suitable  lot,  the  grounds  of  the  second  gov- 
ernor recently  deceased.  We  purchased  from  the  fam- 
ily the  land  with  the  old  residence  and  the  stockade. 
But  presently  the  family  became  alarmed  lest  they  had 
been  too  hasty  in  selling  it  to  foreigners,  and  brought 
back  the  money,  begging  us  to  restore  the  land.  They 
brought,  also,  a  message  from  the  governor,  saying  that 
he  wanted  the  residt  ncc  and  the  stockade  himself,  but 
would  yiif  us  the  rest  of  the  land.  It  was  to  our  in- 
terest to  keep  on  good  terms  with  him,  and  we  agreed 
to  the  arrangement.  We  got  what  we  wanted,  a  good 
station,  and  we  retained,  and  probably  increased  the 
governor's  friendshi; 

To  make  possession  sure,  I  purchased  a  newly-bnilt 
house  which  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  unlucky,  be- 


KK\.  JUNAIHAN    WIISON,  1>.  1>. 
1898 


A  FOOTHOLD  IN  LAMPUN  295 

cause  the  owner's  wife  had  suddenly  died  in  it.  Hav- 
ing arranged  to  have  (lie  house  moved  and  set  up  on 
the  lot,  I  was  about  to  return  to  C*hiengmai,  thinking 
that  there  was  nothing  more  to  do,  when  I  was  sent 
for  by  the  chief  executive  oflScer  of  the  Court.  He  said 
that  the  governor,  indeed,  had  given  us  the  place,  but 
the  Court  wished  to  make  one  proviso.  He  begged  that 
I  would  sign  a  paper  promising  in  few  words  that  if 
the  government  at  any  time  should  need  it,  we  would 
give  it  up.  The  governor  was  growing  old,  and  they 
themselves  would  be  held  responsible.  I  saw  at  once 
that  such  a  step  would  put  it  in  the  power  of  any  one 
to  oust  us.  A  nwd  might  he  feigned,  and  yet  we  should 
be  powerless  to  withstand  it.  1  was  perfectly  dum- 
founded.  My  first  thought  was  to  go  directly  tr  the 
governor.  But  presently  I  bethought  me  of  the  terms 
on  which  IT.  R.  IT.  Trince  Bijit,  the  brother  of  His 
Majesty,  had  given  to  the  mission  the  fine  lot  for  its 
hospital.  The  lot  was  given  in  perpetuity  on  condi- 
tion that  it  be  used  for  medical  and  missionary  pur- 
poses only.  As  long  as  it  was  so  used,  it  was  ours. 
But  it  could  not  be  sold,  or  used  for  other  purposes, 
without  forfeiture  to  the  Prince.  The  thought  came  to 
me  as  an  inspiration.  T  told  the  officer  of  that  written 
deed.  "  Very  well,"  said  he.  "If  you  have  such  a 
paper  as  that,  show  it  to  me,  and  I  will  give  you  one 
like  it  for  this  lot." 

The  diflTiculty  was  solved.  A  swift  footman  was 
despatched  to  Chiengmai  gisking  Mr.  Martin  to  send  me 
at  once  a  copy  of  the  Prince's  deed  of  gift.  Next  morn- 
ing it  cjinie,  and  I  took  it  immediately  to  the  Court. 
The  officer's  surprise  was  evident.  TTe  took  it  and 
read  it  carefully  through.  His  word  was  given.  After 
a  moment's  thought  he  said,  "That  is  all  right.  It 


296  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

will  relieve  me  of  all  respoMibility."  Then  he  called 
up  his  clerk  to  copy  its  terms  and  execute  the  new 
deed.  The  land  was  onrs  to  use  as  long  as  we  should 
use  it  for  the  iiuriM)ses  si»ecifled;  and  that  I  hoped 
would  be  until  the  millennium!  With  a  light  heart  I 
was  soon  aboard  iiiv  boat  and  homeward  bound. 

When  the  house  had  been  removed  and  set  up  on  the 
lot,  Mr.  Collins  and  I  went  down  and  spent  a  week 
there,  with  interested  audiences  every  night.  It  at 
once  became  an  imjio'-tant  out-station  of  the  Chicngmai 
mission.  In  the  meantime  Mr,  Dodd  had  already  col- 
lected some  twenty  students  for  his  trainlngdass,  but 
without  any  quarters  for  them  in  Chiengmai.  Later 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodd  were  put  in  charge  of  the  station, 
and  the  Training  School  was  moved  over  to  Lampun. 
When  the  Lampun  church  was  organized,  its  charter 
members  nunil)ere(i  nearly  two  hundred.  It  is  now 
the  mother  of  rwo  other  churches.  Scarcity  of  men  in 
the  mission,  oijcnings  in  other  places,  and  other  causes 
have  prevented  the  Lampun  station  from  being  con- 
tinuously manned.  lUit  now,  with  such  efficient  work- 
ers there  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Freeman,  it  has  an  important 
future  before  it,  as  a  sub-station  of  Chiengmai. 

Meanwhile  my  own  sickness  had  » jntinued,  with 
several  relapses.  A  minor  surgical  operation  had  so 
delayed  my  recovery  that  Dr.  Cary  now  advised  a 
change  and  rest  in  a  boat  trip  to  Bangkok.  After  the 
departure  of  our  son  to  (he  I  hited  States,  my  wife 
had  remained  in  Bangkok  lor  a  vi.3it,  and  was  soon  to 
return.  The  telegraph  line  which  the  Siamese  govern- 
ment had  recently  completed,  enabled  me  to  wire  to 
her  to  wait  for  me  t(»  come  and  bring  her  back.  Pr. 
Cary  himself,  ""'ho  had  never  recovered  from  the  shock 
occasioned  by  the  tragic  death  of  Mrs.  Cary,  and  who 


A  FOOTHOLD  IN  LAMPCN  297 


was  never  well  during  his  whole  stay  in  the  misgion,  de* 

cided  to  accompany  me  as  far  as  Rahcng. 

At  Paknam  Po  I  left  my  boat,  and  took  passage  for 
Bangkok  by  river  steamer,  thus  saving  seven  days. 
After  remaining  in  Bangkok  only  three  nights,  my 
wife  and  1  took  passage  in  t'.e  same  steamer  on  her 
return  trip,  and  rejoined  our  boat  at  the  forks.  The 
water  was  at  its  best  stage,  and  we  passed  np  some  of 
tlie  rapids  without  knowing  lliat  they  were  there.  But 
my  trouble  had  not  left  me.  A  low  diet  and  long  ill- 
ness had  left  me  thin  and  weak.  The  round  trip  oc- 
cupied only  two  months.  Our  last  Sunday  was  at  Pfik 
IJawng,  t'vo  days  below  Chiengmai.  There  we  held  a 
communion  service  with  the  Christian  families,  and  a 
new  family  was  baptized. 

Three  miles  to  the  east  is  Ban  Pto,  the  village  which 
has  figured  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  Christians 
there  had  long  been  asking  for  a  visit,  which  my  own 
sickness  and  want  of  time  on  the  part  of  others  ren- 
dered it  impossible  to  make.  On  Monday  morning  I 
decided  to  take  the  risk  and  visit  it.  With  some  mis- 
givings I  saw  my  wife's  boat  move  oflf  and  leave  me — 
burning,  so  to  speak,  my  bridges  behind  me.  The 
wl>ole  country  was  flooded.  Discarding  shoes  and 
stockings,  1  made  my  way  on  foot,  weak  as  I  was, 
through  water,  across  ditches,  or  along  the  narrow 
ridges  of  rice-fields,  and  finally  reached  B&n  Pto  in 
safety. 

And  what  a  week  I  spent  in  that  neighbourhood! 
At  Nawng  SIu,  a  village  two  miles  distant  from  Ban 
Pen,  there  were  six  families  of  professed  believers 
whom  Dr.  Dodd  and  1  had  visited  the  season  before — 
almost  swimming  at  times  to  reach  them  in  their  scat- 
tered homes.  Their  admission  was  postponed  at  that 


298  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

time  until  they  shonld  liavc  had  further  instnutioB. 
To  these  I  specially  addressed  myself.    During  the 
week  our  faithful  elder.  Nan  Ta,  came  down  to  asgist 
me  in  the  work.   On  Friday  evening  the  session  met 
at  Nawng  STu  to  examine  and  instruct  these  ne*- 
converts,  and  again  on  Saturday  morning,  closing 
finally  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  with  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Snj.i.er.    On  rounting  up  the  numlters. 
it  was  found  that  twenty  adults  and  seventeen  chil- 
dren had  been  baptized.   Among  them  was  an  aged 
couple  with  their  children,  grand.  hiidron,  and  great 
grandchildren.    It  was  a  niouiorahle  sight.    The  Sab- 
bath was  spent  at  IJau  Ten,  where  seven  more  adults 
and  one  child  were  baptized.   On  Monday  I  made  my 
way  hack  to  the  boat  as  1  had  come,  and  reached  home 
on  Tuesday.    Au<l  now  for  the  strange  part  of  the 
story.    /  nachal  home  m:«M.   My  week's  wading  in  the 
water,  and  the  bard  work,  had  done  what  medicine  and 
doctors  and  a  long  lu>at  trip  had  fail.'d  to  accomplish! 

But  a  new  disappointment  awaited  me.  Before  I 
reached  home,  Dr.  Cary  had  resigned.  His  short 
career  is  one  of  the  mysteries  to  he  explained  in  the 
great  beyond.  A  consecrated  physician,  he  had  given 
his  life  to  the  Lao  people.  Crushed  by  his  tragic  be- 
reavement on  the  way  out,  and  with  a  constitution 
never  strong,  he  contended  manfully  for  two  years 
against  the  debilitating  etVects  of  a  malarial  climate. 
But  at  last  he  had  to  give  up  the  fight.  His  work  had 
been  successful.  "  He  saved  others;  himself  he  could 
not  save! " 

His  departure  threw  on  me  again  the  oversight  of 
the  medical  work.    But  this  time  most  of  the  dlspens 
ing  of  medi.  ine  to  the  natives  fell  nii  Chanta.  a  jirott'-ge 
of  my  own,  who  had  had  good  training  under  two  physi- 


A  FOOTIIOIJ)  IN  LAMPUN 


299 


(ians.  Meanwhile  I>r.  Cheek  looked  after  the  mission 
families,  and,  as  alieady  stated,  was  always  ready  to 
respond  to  an  urgent  call  in  the  hospital.  My  time 
was  largely  given,  thei-efore,  to  the  evan^'elistic  work, 
to  instiMicting  Nun  Ta  and  other  elders,  and  to  teach- 
ing enquirers  and  others  to  read  in  Riamese,  first  the 
Shorter  Catechism,  and  then  a  Gos{)el. 

The  growth  of  the  (Uiifnginai  chnrcli,  though  not 
phenomenal,  was  very  healthy  and  very  uniform 
throughout  the  year.  There  were  accessions  every 
month  save  one,  amounting  in  all  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty  souls.  At  the  end  of  the  year  Miss  I.  A.  GriflBn 
returned  from  furlough,  and  served  a  very  useful  term 
until  1896,  when  she  retired  greatly  missed.  At 
Lakawn,  Rev.  Hugh  Taylor  and  his  wile  began  a 
twenty  years'  course  of  evangelistic  work  carried  on 
with  indefatigable  seal,  while  Miss  Fleeson  was  no  less 
zealous  and  successful  in  laying  the  foundation  of  a 
Girls'  School,  destined  to  be  a  power  in  that  province. 


XXVII 


A  PRISONER  OP  JESUS  CHRIST 

WE  have  bad  frequent  occasion  gratefully  to 
record  the  good  will  of  the  Siamese  govern- 
njent,  and  of  its  coniinissionors  arul  repre- 
sentatives, towards  our  mission.    In  all  its  history  the 
only  exception  to  this  uniform  friendliness  was  in  the 
case  of  the  Commissioner  who,  iu  1880,  succeeded 
Praya  Tep  Worachun.    The  lioys  School  was  on  an 
old  deserted  monastery-site  given  by  the  Prince  to  Dr. 
Peoples  for  a  medical  or  a  mission  compound.  An 
old  ruined  chedi  or  pagoda  was  still  standing  on  it. 
Such  lots,  deserted  by  the  monks,  were  then  regarded 
as  abodes  of  the  spirits,  and  on  such  the  natives  dared 
not  live.   In  preparing  for  the  school  buildings,  the 
d6bri8  about  the  foot  of  the  (hedi  had  been  dug 
away.   One  of  the  early  acts  of  the  new  Commissioner 
was  to  send  a  written  notice  to  the  mission  that  it  was 
improper  to  use  old  Buddhist  shrines  for  purposes 
other  than  those  for  which  they  were  originally  built ; 
and  he  gave  us  notice  that  we  wei-e  to  have  three  months 
in  which  to  find  other  quarters.   But  as  no  other  lot 
was  offered  in  its  place,  we  remained  quiet,  and  that 
was  the  last  we  heard  of  it. 

Another  incident,  occurring  soon  after,  was  more 
serious,  and  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  anxiety;  foi-  it 
came  near  costing  the  life  of  one  of  our  best  native 
assistants.    A  deputation  from  some  twelve  or  fifteen 

800 


A  pris(»\i:k  of  .iKsiTs  ciiiUKT  :w\ 


families  in  Cbieng  Duo  came  to  us  with  a  request  that 
a  native  assistant  be  sent  np  to  teach  tbem.  Kru  Nftn 
T5  went  np,  and  thev  bcfuiiie  believers,  but  required 
much  further  instruction.  We  selected  Noi  Siri,  the 
most  prudent  of  our  elders,  for  the  task.  We  charged 
him  specially,  inasmuch  as  it  was  in  a  province  new 
to  our  work,  to  use  great  caul  inn  and  jjivc  no  just 
cause  of  oflence  to  the  rulers  or  to  others.  He  re- 
mained there  a  month,  and  then  was  recalled  by  the 
illness  of  his  wife.  He  stopped  at  the  mission  to  re- 
port pronrrcss,  pivinp  a  jiood  account  of  the  conduct  and 
diligence  of  the  new  Christians. 

Great  was  onr  sarprise,  then,  in  a  tew  honrs  to  learn 
that  Noi  Siri  had  been  arrested,  i»ut  in  heavy  irons, 
and  thrown  into  pristm  on  a  charge  of  treason  against 
the  government.  Mr.  Collins,  Mr.  Dodd,  and  I  called 
upon  the  Commissioner  to  enquire  the  canse  of  his  ar- 
rest. The  Commissioner  replied,  Yes;  he  had  him  ar- 
rested on  the  grave  charge  of  disloyalty  in  teaching 
the  converts  that  they  were  exempt  from  goremment 
work.  Such  teaching  was  treason;  and  if  the  charge 
were  true,  the  penalty  was  death.  It  was  not,  there- 
fore, a  bailable  offence.  At  the  same  time,  he  said,  no 
specifications  had  been  forwarded.  He  would  sum- 
mon the  accusers,  and  tlio  man  should  have  a  fair  trial, 
and  should  have  the  privilege  of  producing  any  wit- 
nesses he  pleased  in  his  defence.  That  was,  of  course, 
all  that  we  could  ask,  save  to  beg  that  the  trial  be 
hastened  as  far  as  possible — to  which  he  consented. 
Krii  Nan  Ta  was  allowed  to  see  the  prisoner  in  his 
cell.  From  him  he  learned  that  so  far  was  the  accusa- 
tion from  being  true,  that  he  had  taught  the  Christians 
that  they  were  not  exempt  from  government  work ;  and 
that,  furthermore,  no  call  had  been  made  on  them  for 


303  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AXI>  THF  LAO 

sprvico  while  lie  wiis  there.  We  sent  immediately  for 
all  the  Christian  men  to  come  down. 

After  some  delay  the  prinoner  was  called  Into  court 
and  examined.  Aciordiiis  to  Siamese  custom,  hia  ex- 
amination was  taken  down  in  writing. 

«  Are  you  Noi  Siri,  who  has  been  teaching  in  Ohieng 
Dflo?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  When  did  you  go  there  to  teach?  " 

"  On  the  fourth  of  the  third  waning  moon." 

"  Have  yon  tanjj;ht  that  Christiana  are  exempt  from 
public  service?  " 

"  No.  On  the  contrary,  I  taught  that,  as  Siamese 
subjects,  Christians  are  to  pay  their  taxes  and  perform 
all  the  dnties  of  other  subjects." 

The  testimony  of  the  governor  of  Chieng  Dao,  his 
accuser,  was  then  taken  in  his  presence.  Among  the 
questions  asked  him  were  these : 

"  Can  you  state  any  particular  time  and  place  when 
the  Christians  were  called  to  do  government  work  and 
refused?" 

"  Yes.  I  called  a  man  or  two,  and  they  did  not 

obey." 

"  When  was  that  call  made? " 

«  On  the  fourth  day  of  the  third  waxing  moon." 

This  was  the  only  specification  which  the  governor 
gave.  The  date,  it  will  be  noted,  was  fifteen  days 
earlier  than  that  of  Noi  Siri's  arrival  in  Chieng  DSo. 
If  the  statement  were  true,  ir  might  have  subjected 
the  persons  who  were  summoned  to  trial  and  punish- 
ment for  disJoyalty;  but  it  absolutely  cleared  Noi  Siri. 
An  upright  judge  would  have  dismissed  the  case.  The 
Christian  witnesses  were  in  attendance  to  testify  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  instruction  they  received;  but 


A  PRI80KER  OF  JESUS  CHBIBT  303 


were  not  g\r&i  the  opportunity  to  do  m.  The  accnaed 

man  was  reinuuded  t«»  prisnu.  We  wailed,  hut  nothing 
was  done.  We  called  uuoe  uiure  un  the  CummiHsiuner; 
bat  were  told  that  the  case  had  been  referred  to 
Bangkok,  and  be  muHt  wait  for  a  reply.  We  wuited 
ajjnin.  At  last  we  made  a  written  ajtpeal  on  h's  l>e 
half,  and  in  answer  were  told  that  the  ca8e  was  one 
with  their  own  snbjectH,  and  we  had  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  Meantime  Noi  Hiri  had  Ihm  uiiu-  iniit»'  ill,  and  all 
that  we  could  do  was  to  get  him  transferred  from  hia 
dungeon  tu  the  common  prison. 

Eight  months  after  this,  when  Mr.  Dodd  went  down 
to  Bangkok  to  be  married  to  Mi.ss  Eakin,  he  made, 
through  the  United  States  Minister,  an  appeal  to  the 
Prince  Minister  of  the  North,  who  promised  an  im- 
mediate order  for  his  release.  As  soon  as  we  were  as- 
sured of  that,  we  went  to  the  resident  Prince  in  Chieng- 
uiai,  II.  K.  H.  I'riuoe  Sonapandit,  who  promised  that 
the  order  should  be  issued  at  once.  The  next  day  we 
called  on  the  ('oiuniissioner  to  remind  him  of  the 
Prince's  promise;  but  he  and  the  Judge  hud  just  gone 
out  for  a  stroll  in  the  city.  It  waa  then  Saturday 
afternoon.  Next  day  was  our  communion  service,  and 
1  was  determined  to  have  Noi  Siri  jiresent.  To  do  this 
1  had  to  follow  those  men  up  at  once.  I  was  a  fast 
walker,  and,  when  necessary,  conld  ran.  My  race 
after  them  was  the  ludicrous  sequel  of  the  i  j'  k  Two 
high  officials  closing  their  office  and  escaping,  in  order 
to  keep  their  victim  in  chains  another  night,  pursued 
by  swifter  feet,  and  overtaken  in  the  street!  The 
Judge  acknowledged  tl  Jie  Prince  had  given  the 
order.  He  would  attend  to  it  to-morrow.  Since  to- 
morrow would  be  Snnday,  I  need  not  come.  But  I 
knew  that  we  should  not  see  Noi  Siri  in  time  for  onr 


.'{04  AM()N<i  Tin    -lAMHHi:  AN1>  Till:  I.AO 


worship  unlt'HH  I  v.fin  !■  bUu.  So  .n  Hunday  morn- 
ing I  i-ulled  uiire  more  on  the  .IiHlgc  wlxi  iiguin  Mid 
that  I  need  nut  wail ;  luit  I  iiad  to  teli  him  that  I 
would  not  return  till  I  Haw  hi^  rt'leasi-.  So  \hf  jiriH 
oner  was  called,  aud  1  ^•  iw  tho  fetters  tukeu  uff  froiu 
bi8  ankles. 

The  wcoiid  Ik'II  was  'ii,f.iU).'  when  I  entered  th*' 
rhurih;  Itut  Noi  Siii  wns  will.  nie.  The  congregation 
ruHc  and  sang  Uu-  ion,  tu>-ti-,-  loxology.  There  were 
not  many  dry  eye«  in  tin'  i-uom  Mr.  l)odd  preached 
from  (lie  tt  xt.  "  Aiitl  hii  that  a  .  thiugH  work 
together  for  good  to  tin  ui  that  1' vi-  (iiMi."  Auiuag  the 
converts  who  then  stood  up  t«>  make  a  piMic  i»o- 
fesHion  of  faith  was  NHng  Sii,  a  -hm^hter  of  N'oi  Siri 
and  thw  happy  coincidence  was  u»  planning  of 
uurs. 

Noi  Hiri'8  faith  bad  beat  tried  by  fire,  and  be  bad 

come  fortli  from  tlie  furnac*'  as  jniri'  gold.  !  ;i  addii  .un 
to  his  own  imprison incnt  and  distress,  his  wife  liad 
been  for  monthfi  vi  r.v  h.w  with  Hick»e«a.  and  one  of  Hi* 
grandchildren  liad  di«  <l  during  the  intfi  !.  Hut  f  mii 
liis  jirison  .dl  he  had  wrii, ('.  his  fa  ily  not  to 
let  tlieir  faith  be  shaken  eitlier  by  his  i  ials  or  by 
their  own.  r>aring  the  eight  months  »ad  ten  days  of 
his  iinprisonnient,  one  hundred  inid  'hirty-thrc  pi-r- 
sons — his  daughter  closing  the  list— w  re  received  mto 
church  nembership.  A  European  in  einfiloy  of  the 
govemm^it,  who  had  cognizan.e  of  ihe  wiiuie  case, 
afterwards  said  >  me,  "  It  might  lie  well  to  et  the 
Cuinmissiouer  t<  uprison  a  few  m  re  (.hristian-  '.  "  A 
history  of  the  <  -«  was  afterwards  poblisbed  f»y  on 
Hoard  in  a  leall    entitleil,  "  The  Laos  Prisoner 

Hefore  the  e!  e  of  the  .vei'r  there  was  an  event  whieh 
for  the  time  can  ■  near  to  overlhrowing  th.  jjov  iBiB«>t. 


A  fUlSOXf  R  OF  -rrs?      (     i;!     '  IMC, 


A  new  tax,  i  thi«?fl^\  on  nrv<H  irwa,  vauNcd  much 
rxaupwarion  i  hrotifhoti*  the  rnantry.   As  usual,  the 

tax  fn  n cd  otif  •  ('hi  fur  collectim.  The 
hKMil  ofHcer^  in  v;ii  di--  t-  <>riur<l  n  nmf'fion  t<> 
resiHt  to  the  uttern>  ■  tht  ci.iiet  Mon  of  the  tax.  Of 
cevrae,  ihim  coitld  nor  be  allov  <>d,  nince  the  cr>11e(*ton 
"vere  tb«?  ajroTit   nf  H  •  /  >voi  -     it.    '"he  resii-     ico  wa^ 


centred  'liic;.^   in  tht  'istrii 
ih(  city,  *horp    'rayfl       ■.  wi 
HM  »  Holdic^,       U  HO  Ui 
fnt'     'f  t!it'  i  '  .      nfs  ■• 
tnai.    A  (In;  i  vt  n    .ts  st't 
If  the:v  had  mat      ■  dash 
liavc  t  ken  '*    for    he  ■ 
wholly  '  itii  Hi  iii,  and 
pared. 

Oar  h       wf  -  V 
thf  Chii. 

inisii  ^t'Dts.      li^  re  ili 
that  of  the  Sisiajese  Prin 
pesit   Of*  .  :    ^he  othwr 

wr--         !i(  'iHiro; 
ail'    ehj  ircii  ot  . 
aliR««8t  Mrcibly  t 
'.m\  i'ase,  sh 
■  e»-r  fr       th»  , 
.  at  i  di~f 


h( 

'I  \im>.  ■Mm 
s  ii»  z-   !  ,  a 
ill  ' 

.1111 

uvevom^t. 


vard  of 
<  liiitation 
•nidderable 
f  rhieng- 
the  c  'J. 
d  e  Hy 

iipli  IH 

vvaa  m,  e- 


tia^nd  yards  away  from 

viis  tlio  ohjfclive  of  the 
the  C'omnuHsioner  and 
t4ona^Bdit  were  nearly  «p 
■  of  the  river.   Our  position 


COli 


a-.   3^  b«" 


other  tliev  dcisi 


ly  the  'M-t  that  the  wives 
()'     iiluential  Chinese  had 
^efng'    a  our  onmponnd.  In 
.oen  IB  a  po.sitinn  of  groat 
uii    he  other  side  of  the  river 
py.    We  were  strongly  advised 
Britii<b  Consulate,  wh«»He  shidter 
:  lis    Hut  the  whole  population  in 
ti  \\.     watching  os.    If    <■  -stirred, 
a  general  stftmpede. 
:.-<elve«  and  for  the  country,  the 
■u  people  failed.   One  after  an- 
leader,  till  at  last  he  also  fled. 


306  AMONG  TOE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

He  was  caught,  however,  and  with  seven  other  leaders 
was  executed.  This  was  the  end  of  the  matter  in 
Chiengmai ;  but  certain  parties  of  the  insurgentB,  escap- 
ing northwards,  became  roving  bands  of  marauders 
that  for  some  time  disturbed  tlie  peace  of  the  frontier 
towns.  The  rebellion  never  had  any  chance  of  ultimate 
success;  but  had  the  attack  on  the  city  been  actually 
made,  the  immediate  consequences  would  have  been 
direful,  and  untold  calamity  would  have  been  entailed 
on  the  whole  country. 

The  arrival  of  Dr.  McKean  at  the  close  of  the  year 
marked  an  era  in  our  medical  work.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  our  daughter,  Miss  Cornelia  H.  McGilvary, 
now  Mrs.  William  Harris  Jnn.  It  was  Vie  pleasant 
duty  of  Mrs.  McGilvary  to  escort  the  party  up  from 
Hangkok.  The  appointment  of  our  daughter  was  no 
less  a  surprise  than  a  delight  to  us.  During  her  school 
days  she  always  said  that  she  woald  not  become  a 
missionary.  When  the  question  came  up  for  final  set- 
tlement, she  fought  it  out  in  her  own  mind  alone, 
and  reached  her  own  decision.  The  LHo  language, 
which,  during  her  ten  years'  absence,  she  seemed  to 
have  lost  entirely,  came  back  to  her  very  soon  and  with 
little  effort. 

It  has  been  Dr.  McKean's  privilege  to  continne  the 

work  begun  by  able  physicians,  and  to  carry  it  to  a 
higher  degree  of  efficiency.  He  has  combined,  as  most 
of  our  physicians  have  done,  the  two  great  objects  of 
the  medical  missionary,  the  medical  and  the  evangel- 
istic, making  the  former  a  moans  to  the  latter.  While 
the  professional  and  the  charitable  features  of  the  work 
have  not  been  minimized,  bnt  rather  magnified,  no  min- 
ister has  more  loved  to  i)reach  the  Gosj^l,  or  has  been 
more  successful  in  it   At  the  same  time  it  may  be 


A  PRISONER  OF  .lE.SUS  CHRIHT  307 


that  the  great  work  now  cnlicstiDg  his  sympathj  and 
his  Btrennons  efforts — the  establishment  of  a  leper  col- 
ony and  hosj)ital,  and  the  amelioration  of  the  condi- 
tion of  that  unfortunate  class— may  be  the  one  with 
which  bis  name  will  be  most  intimately  associated. 


XXVIII 


CIRCUIT  TOUR  WITH  MY  DAUGHTER,  1890 

1HAD  been  appointed  by  Presbytery  to  organize 
in  Chiang  Rai  the  church  which  was  not  found 
read.v  for  orjjanizntion  on  my  previous  visit.  I 
had  planned  for  a  tour  longer  than  usual,  to  incinde 
the  eastern  provinces  as  far  as  NSn,  as  well  as  the 
northern  ones,  and  expected  to  take  with  me  native 
assistants  only.  Hut  upon  the  arrival  of  our  rein- 
forcement, 1  was  no  less  surprised  than  delighted  to 
find  that  ray  daughter  desired  to  accompany  me;  and 
so  it  was  arranged. 

Starting  on  February  5th,  we  spent  the  first  f>unday 
in  Lakawn.  Here  we  met  another  surprise.  Mr. 
Taylor  had  spent  his  first  year  in  that  annoying 
Work  for  the  now  missionary,  the  building  of  a  house, 
lie  was  anxious  to  get  out  among  the  people,  but 
feared  he  was  not  sufficiently  versed  in  the  language 
to  make  profitable  u  tour  alone.  He  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
would  join  us  if  they  could  get  elephants — a  matter 
which  was  easily  arranged.  Mr.  Tayh^r  proved  to  be 
an  efficient  helper.  My  daughter  had  a  delightful  com- 
panion, and  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  initiate  the  new 
missionaries  into  the  evangelistic  work  which  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Taylor  since  then  have  carried  on  so  succewfully 
for  twenty  years.  It  is  still  their  delight — may  they 
live  to  carry  it  on  for  many  years  to  come! 
One  of  the  chief  diversions  of  the  trip  thenceforward 

80S 


CIECUIT  TOUR  WITH  MY  DAUGHTER  309 


was  aflForded  by  tli(>  prankfi  of  an  nncommonly  mis- 
chievoos  baby-clepliant  which  accompanied  its  mother. 
On  one  occasion  a  footman  coinin<»  towards  vis  stepped 
out  of  the  trail  and  stood  beside  a  large  tree  to  let 
US  pass.  The  mischievoas  creature  saw  his  oppor- 
tunily,  and  before  t!ie  man  knew  what  was  up,  he 
found  himself  fast  pinioned  between  the  elephant's 
head  and  the  tree  trunk.  The  frightened  man  extri- 
cated himself  with  loud  outcry,  while  the  bdioldera 
were  convulsed  with  laughter.  0»ir  own  men  were  con- 
stantly the  victims  of  his  pranks;  so  that,  one  day,  I 
told  them  that  there  would  be  no  trouble  if  they 
would  only  leave  the  creature  alone — adding,  by  w.ay 
of  clincliing  my  advice,  "  You  see,  he  never  troubles 
me."  Just  then,  to  the  great  delight  of  all,  he  made 
straight  for  me,  and  if  there  had  been  a  tree  behind 
me  I  should  have  been  in  the  same  unpleasant  position 
in  which  the  footman  found  himself. 

Mr.  Taylor's  account  of  the  earlier  portion  of  the  trip 
is  as  follows: 

"  We  left  Lakawn  on  the  12th  of  February  with  Dr.  Mc- 

Gilvary  and  his  daughter,  anJ  in  four  days  roaehed  Mdang 
Pre.  Our  tents  were  pitched  by  the  road  just  outside  the  city 
gate.  The  advent  of  four  foreigners,  two  of  whom  were 
women,  created  quite  a  stir;  and  we  were  all  kept  abundantly 
busy  in  visiting  and  being  visited.  Mrs.  Taylor  and  Miss 
Mi'Gilvary  were  the  first  white  ladies  to  risit  the  place; 
and  of  course,  much  to  their  own  discomfort,  were  the  centre 
of  attraction.  .  .  . 

"  The  people  of  Pre  seemed  very  ready  to  listen  to  the 
Gospel;  so  plenty  of  auditors  were  found  CTerywhere.  On 
Sabbath,  the  IGth,  the  first  convert  in  Pre  was  baptized. 
He  is  a  blind  man,  Noi  Wong  by  name,  who  came  to 
Lakawn  to  *>r  *  Dr.  Peoples  operate  on  his  eyes;  but  as 
nothing  coi  uni-  for  him,  he  returneil  home  carrying  in 

his  heart  so.     ^f  the  teachings  there  received,  and  in  his 


310   VMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


hiiiul  a  riaiiuscrii>t  copy  of  a  small  catechism  I  was  able  to 
spuft'  him.  From  his  answers  before  the  session,  it  was  evi- 
dei't  that  he  had  used  his  brother's  eyes  weil  in  having  it 
read  to  him. 

''  On  Wednesday  we  started  on  for  Nan,  and  arrived  there 
the  following  Tuesday.  We  received  a  ver^-  cordial  welcome 
from  the  officials  of  that  city,  who  sent  a  man  to  put  in  order 
a  rest-house  for  us,  and  another  to  conduct  our  elephants  to 
a  place  for  food  and  water.  Next  day,  after  the  court  closed, 
some  of  the  officials  eume  tu  visit  us.  After  wading  tliruugh 
the  crowds  on  the  tirst  and  second  verandas,  and  finally 
planting  himself  cross-legged  in  the  middle  of  the  thronged 
reception-room,  tlieir  Chief  said  they  tho.ipht  we  would  be 
lonesome;  so  they  had  come  to  visit  us.  No  idea  could  have 
been  more  c()mical  to  u.s:  but  he  was  seriously  in  earnest, 
and  explained  that  he  h  id  never  known  the  people  to  visit 
with  other  foreigners  who  had  come  to  their  city.  They 
would  not,  however,  listen  well  when  the  subject  of  religion 
was  broached,  and  with  one  or  two  exceptions  would  not  at- 
tend any  of  our  services." 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  in  Nun,  laj 
daughter  met  in  the  market-place  a  daughter  of  the 
Prince,  and,  l)ffoit>  she  was  aware,  found  herself 
escorted  into  the  jialace.  Her  newlv  recovered  lan- 
guar^e  stood  her  in  g(»(»d  stead,  and  she  l;ad  a  pleas- 
ant talk  with  the  Prince  and  his  daughters  and  wives. 
Next  day  lie  sent  word  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  give 
our  party  an  audience.  He  was  of  venerable  age,  and 
Mcond  only  to  our  Chiengmai  Prince  in  his  influence 
at  the  court  of  Bangkok.  He  expressed  his  pleasure  at 
our  visit  to  his  country.  He  was  too  cdd  to  embrace 
a  new  religion.  We  might  teach  his  children  and 
grandchildren.  What  they  would  do  he  did  not 
know. 

At  Nun  the  Taylors  left  us,  returning  to  their  sta- 
tion, while  we  journeyed  on.   Our  next  stage  was 


CIRCUIT  TOUR  WITH  MY  DAUGHTER  311 


f'hieng  Kawng,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the 
northwest.  We  usually  stopped  for  the  night  at  large 
villages,  or  sometimes  in  small  towns.  But  once  we 
spent  two  days  in  the  forest,  where  hears,  tigers,  and 
wild  elephants  abound.  The  first  evening  we  juat 
missed  the  sight  of  three  tigers.  Our  men  had  gone  on 
ahead  to  select  a  camping-place  for  the  night,  and  saw 
a  mother  with  two  cnhs  crossing  the  road.  Next 
morning  one  of  my  elephants,  that  had  been  hobbled 
and  turned  loose,  was  not  on  hand.  It  was  nothing 
nnosaal  for  one  of  thctn  to  be  a  little  belated,  so  we 
loaded  up  the  others  and  prepared  for  starting.  But 
when  an  hour  had  passed,  and  then  two  hours,  and  the 
elephant  still  did  not  come,  we  unloaded  than  and 
waited  a  long  weary  day  and  an  anxious  ni{,ht.  Early 
next  morning,  however,  the  driver  appeared.  That 
was  a  relief,  but  still  there  was  no  elephant.  He  had 
followed  her  trail  over  the  mountain  ridge,  down 
gorges,  and  across  knolls,  till,  tired  and  hungry,  he 
had  retraced  his  steps.  Night  overtook  him,  and, 
crouched  under  a  tree,  he  had  caught  snatches  of  sleep 
while  keeping  watch  for  tigers.  Foi  two  nights  and  a 
day  he  had  not  tasted  food.  With  an  elephant's  in- 
stinct, the  beast  was  making  her  way  towards  her  old 
range  in  Chieng  Rai,  many  days  distant.  It  was  a 
relief  to  know  that  she  had  not  joined  a  iarge  wild 
herd,  in  which  case  her  captur*!  would  be  practically 
impossible. 

We  could  not  remain  indefinitely  in  the  forest.  So 
giving  the  driver  food,  a  gun.  and  two  carriers  for 
company,  with  instructions  not  to  return  till  the  ele- 
phant was  found,  we  moved  ou  five  or  six  miles  to  the 
next  village.  Ran  Kein.  This  was  the  noon  of  Wednes- 
day.  Our  detention  seemed  provid^tial.  We  found 


.'512  AMONO  TIIK  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


tho  placo  fever  strickon.  Our  incdiciiies  at  once  made 
us  friends.  Our  teul  woh  crowded  with  visitors,  so 
that  I  had  little  time  to  think  of  tt»  Imt  el^ant.  The 
jiodple  seemed  lninf»Ty  for  Ifie  (lnspcl.  Tln-oo  suh- 
stantial  men  in  the  village,  on  the  nighi  iK'Inre  we  left, 
professed  a  sincere  and  cordial  acceptance  ^  J^m  as 
their  Savionr. 

On  Saturday,  shortly  after  midday,  there  W3'  a 
sh(mt,  "Here  comes  Lung  Noi  with  the  elephant!" 
I  WW  both  and  sorry  to  hear  it.  Had  I  been  alone, 
I  should  have  remained  longer.  I?nt  we  ha<l  lost  so 
much  time,  thar  every  one  was  eager  to  depart.  I 
[tromised  if  possible  to  come  again,  hut  the  time  never 
came. 

Chier.g  Kawng  was  our  next  point,  a  place  T  had 
visited  with  Dr.  Vroomau  seventeen  years  before.  The 
young  lad  who  then  was  so  much  interested  in  my  re- 
jieating  rifle  was  now  governor,  and  came  running  out, 
bareheaded  and  barefooted,  to  welcome  us.  In  the  in- 
terval 1  had  met  him  from  time  to  time  in  Chiengmai, 
and  he  always  begged  that  I  woald  make  him  another 
visit.  I  had  been  better  than  my  word  — I  had  come 
at  lasi,  and  brought  my  daughter,  too.  His  brother, 
the  second  governor,  had  seen  us  in  time  to  don  his 
audience  dress,  and  he  appeared  more  like  a  white 
man  than  any  one  we  had  seen  since  the  Taylors  left 
us.  He  was  ready  to  start  on  an  expedition  to  Mflang 
Bing,  five  days  northward  beyond  the  Mft  KOng.  The 
Prince  of  Nan  had  received  permission  from  the  King 
of  Siam  to  repeojde  thai  old  province.  Hence  this  ex- 
pedition. The  leader  had  three  hundred  men,  and  gave 
me  a  cordial  invitation  to  go  as  chaplain  and  physi- 
cian! After  this,  while  the  work  was  well  under  way, 
thb  territory  was  turned  over  to  France  as  the  result 


CIRCUIT  TOUR  WITH  MY  DAUGHTER  313 

of  the  long  and  troubled  negotiations  over  the  boundary 
between  Siam  and  French  Indo-China. 

The  wires  of  both  the  governors  could  scarcely  he 
content  with  my  daughter's  short  stay.  They  would 
surely  become  Christians,  if  she  would  remain  one 
month  to  teach  them.  All  I  (ouM  do  was  to  promise 
once  more  1o  come  again  if  iiossihie.  The  promised 
visit  was  made  two  years  later,  but  then  the  "  Nfii " 
was  not  along. 

From  there  the  only  travelled  route  to  Chieng  Sen 
was  by  Chieng  liai,  both  hot  and  circuitous.  The  al- 
ternative was  a  blind,  untravelled  track  through  the 
forest,  made  over  forty  years  before,  when  Siara  8«it 
its  hist  unfortunate  exiwMlilion  ajjainst  Keng  Tung. 
Here  was  a  tempting  chance  to  test  the  old  proverb, 
Where  there's  a  will,  there's  a  way.  The  governor 
procured  a  noted  hunter  to  guide  us.  Every  carrier 
and  driver  and  servant  in  the  party  carried  his  bush 
knife,  and  all  promised  to  aid  if  we  only  would  take 
the  cooler  road.  It  was,  however,  literally  making  in 
the  forest  "  a  highway  for  oui  Uod,"  over  which  several 
missionary  tours  have  since  been  made.  In  the  denser 
parts  of  the  foreat,  we  conld  force  our  way  only  by  cut- 
ting away  branches  and  small  trees,  and  at  times  felling 
clum[)s  of  hamluio. 

We  had  a  cool  place  for  rest  and  worship  on  Sunday. 
Onr  hnnter  had  not  promised  to  keep  the  Sabbath, 
anil  we  were  on  bis  old  hunting-grounds,  where  game 
of  all  kinds  abounded.  At  dawn  he  was  off  with  bis 
gtm,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  him  till  sunset,  when  he 
apfteai-ed  smiling,  with  some  choice  cnts  of  be^  hang- 
ing from  the  barrel  of  his  gun.  lie  had  found  and  fol- 
lowed, all  day,  a  lierd  of  wild  cattle— the  Kating— and 
succeeded  in  kiUing  one  of  them  sear  our  road,  a  mile 


•Mi  AMONG  Tlir;  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


or  more  ahead  of  our  camp.  Though  killed  on  Sun- 
day, we  ate  it  and  asked  no  qnestions  for  conscience' 
sake.  It  was  suirlv  the  most  delicious  heef  we  ever 
tasted.  We  sliould  iiuve  had  a  mutiny  tlio  next  day, 
bad  we  proposed  to  pass  on  without  stopping  to  save 
the  meat.  And  wliat  a  huge  creature  it  was.  It  mnst 
liav*'  wpiylied  nearly  a  ton.  Our  men  extemporized 
frames  over  the  fire,  and  were  busy  cutting  up  the  meat 
and  drying  it  until  late  at  night.  Next  day  each  man 
went  loaded  with  it  to  his  utmost  capacity.  What  we 
could  not  carry  away,  the  guide  stored  in  the  fork  of  a 
tree  against  his  return. 

The  journey  through  the  forest  was  shorter  and  far 
more  comfortable  than  would  have  been  the  regular 
route.  When  next  I  travelled  it,  it  had  become  a 
public  highway.  And  us  long  as  I  continued  to 
journey  that  way,  it  was  known  as  the  "Teacher's 
Koad." 

Chieng  S^n  was  the  limit  of  our  trip.  Before  reach- 
ing it,  we  began  to  hear  rumours  of  war — that  the  city 
was  blockaded,  no  one  being  permitted  to  enter  or 
depart.  The  country  population  had  been  called  in 
to  defend  the  city,  etc.,  etc.  We  were  advised  to  re- 
turn, but  kept  on.  At  the  gate  the  guard  admitted  us 
without  difficulty. 

The  disturbance  was  the  aftermath  of  the  previous 
year's  tax-rebellion,  which,  as  we  supposed,  was  com- 
pletely ended  before  we  left  home.  But  a  portion  of 
the  insurgents  had  fled  to  Keng  Tun^,  and.  gathering 
there  a  lf>rger  force,  came  south  again  us  far  as  M(iang 
Ffing,  where  they  were  either  captured  or  again  scat- 
tered. It  was  the  fear  that  this  lawless  band,  on  its 
retreat  northw.-.nl,  might  attack  and  plunder  the  city, 
that  caused  the  confusion.   But  the  fugitives  would 


CIBOUIT  TOUR  WITH  MY  DAUGHTEB  815 

have  been  fools  to  linpcr  about  two  weeks  after  their 
defeat,  when  they  kuew  that  both  the  army  behind 
them  and  the  country  in  front  of  them  would  be  on 
the  alert  for  their  capfni-e.  The  governor  waa  de- 
lighted to  gee  us,  and  we  were  al.le  iu  some  degree 
to  allay  his  fears.  We  were  there,  too,  to  speak  a 
won!  of  c«)nifort  to  oar  own  flock,  who,  like  the  rent, 
had  beeu  called  in  to  protect  the  eitv.  The  pnnio 
gradually  subsided,  and  the  people  returned  to  flieir 
homes.  Owing  in  part  to  the  unsettled  condition  of 
the  country,  we  did  not  remain  long  in  Chioig  Sto ;  bnt 
long  enough  to  visit  in  their  homes  every  Christian 
family  save  one,  and  to  have  a  delightful  communion 
season  with  the  church  on  Sunday. 

Our  special  commission  on  thia  tour  was  to  or- 
ganize a  church  in  Chieng  Bai,  where  our  next  Sunday 
was  spent.   Our  governor  friend  was  disappointed  that 
we  had  not  come  to  take  possession  of  the  flne  lot  on 
the  bank  of  the  Me  Kok  whi(h  he  had  given  us.  At 
his  suggestion  a  house  on  it  was  purchased  from  his 
son  at  a  nominal  price,  with  the  promise  that  we 
would  urge  the  mission  t«)  occupy  it  the  next  year.  On 
April  13th,  the  three  sectiims  of' the  church  assembled 
by  invitation  at  M6  Kawn.   The  obstacles  which  pre- 
vented the  organization  before  were  now  removed. 
Fjfty-one  communicants  and  thirtv  two  non  commun- 
ing members  were  enrolled,  two  ruling  elders  were 
elected  and  ordained,  and  the  new  church  started  with 
fair  prospt  cts. 

We  reachoJ  home  on  April  29th.  ,if(er  an  absence 
of  eighty-one  days.    We  found  all  well,  and  the  work 
prospering  along  all  the  lines.  It  waa  none  too  soon 
however.   We  were  just  in  time  to  escape  the  riae  of 
the  streams.  At  our  last  encampment  on  the  Md 


:m  AMoxr,  tuk  sia.mi:si:  aaD  the  lao 


Kuung  we  had  u  great  Ktorui  of  wiud  and  rain,  with 
trees  and  branches  falling  abont  m.  The  trip  was  a 

long  one  for  my  diuiKlitcr  ;  hut  her  presence  umitly  en 
lianced  the  imparlance  of  the  tour.    On  my  subsequent 
tours  through  that  region  the  llrst  ijueslion  always 
was,  "  Did  you  bring  the  Nfti?  "  and  the  second,  "  Why 
nut?" 

On  our  return  we  were  surprised  to  find  Dr.  Mc 
Kean  in  a  new  and  comfortable  teak  honse,  toward 
the  erection  of  which  neither  axe  nor  saw  nor  plane 
had  Ix'on  used  when  we  left.  The  sawmill  couM  de- 
liver at  once  whatever  was  needed.  Hut  iny  house  had 
been  seven  years  in  building! 

By  this  time  nearly  all  the  Lao  cities  of  Siam  had 
been  visitetl  by  missionaries.  In  two  of  theui — Chieng- 
niai  and  Lakawn— we  had  established  i»ernianent  sta- 
tions. For  the  third  station,  Chieng  Rai  seemed  to 
present  the  strongest  claim.  Politically  it  was  not  so 
important  as  Nan.  But  Niin,  while  very  cordial  to 
foreigners  personally,  was  very  jealous  about  admitting 
foreign  inlluence  «»f  any  kipd.  And  the  absolute  con- 
trol of  the  pcojde  by  the  princes  of  Nan  would  be  an 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  acceptance  of  Christianity 
there  until  the  princes  themselves  embraced  it.  In 
(>hien{i  Rai  province  the  governor  was  known  to  l»e 
favourable  to  the  Jesus-religion.  Its  broad  plains  and 
fertile  soil  were  sure  to  attract  a  large  immigration 
from  the  south,  where  population  is  dense  and  land 
very  dear.  The  city  is  about  equidistant  from  the  tive 
cities  of  Wieng  Pa  Pao  «m  the  south,  Miiaug  Fang  on 
the  west,  Chieng  HOn  on  the  north,  Chieng  Kawng  on 
the  northeast,  and  f^hieng  Kam  on  tli^  east.  In  our 
rejtorts  to  the  mission  and  to  the  Hoard,  these  facts 
were  urged  as  uiguiiienls  foi-  tile  estabiisfament  of  a 


CIRCUIT  TOL  H  WITH  MY  DAUGHTER  317 

station  therr  The  tiii.'^'sion  ^'avc  its  cordial  sanction 
to  a  temporary  octui)uuc,y.  A  lunger  tour  was  author- 
ised for  the  next  aeasoD;  but  the  heavy  debt  of  the 
Hoard  forlMde  the  expenditure  of  more  than  two  him- 
drtiU  and  tifty  rupees  for  a  temporary  house  in  order 
to  secure  the  land  which  had  been  given  us.  Our  long 
delay  sorely  shook  the  good  gorernort  faith  that  we 
wouhl  ever  come. 

Tlie  nrrival  of  \»'Uiit,'  mihhionaries  on  the  tield  ren 
dered  some  kind  of  ph^v^ical  and  social  recreation  neces 
sary.  Croquet  had  formerly  been  tried,  but  It  gave 
very  liM!,-  excrcis*'.  and  had  l)een  supplanted  bv  the 
better  game  of  lawn  tennis.  In  the  fall  of  1890,  Mrs. 
McQilvary  prepared  a  court  in  our  front  lot,  and  in- 
vited the  missionaries  and  the  small  European  com- 
munity to  an  "At  Home"  on  Tuesdiiys  at  4  p.m. 
The  game  furnished  the  very  exercise  needed  after  a 
day's  conflnement  in  school  or  study.  It  proved  so 
beueticial  to  health  nd  lo  efficiency  in  work,  that  the 
"At  Home"  was  continued,  with  occ.  sioual  interrup- 
tions from  weather  or  other  causes,  for  thirteen  or 
fourteen  ^ears.  This  was  Mrs.  McGilvary's  little  con- 
tribution to  the  health  and  the  so(  il  recreation  of  the 
community  in  which  we  lived;  and  it  was  highly  ap- 
preciated. 

In  August  I  had  occasion  to  visit  Wieng  Pa  Fio. 
Before  1  was  out  of  the  Chiengmai  plain  I  had  an  ex- 
citing runaway  on  my  big  sadaw  tiephai^c.  A  mother 
cow  was  grazing  at  some  littte  distance  from  her  calf. 
As  the  elephant  approached  the  calf,  (he  inotlier  be- 
came alarmed  for  its  safety,  and  rushed  frantically 
towards  it,  bellowing  to  the  utmost  capacity  of  her 
lungs.  Tliis  was  ip.ite  too  much  for  my  big  timid 
beast.  He  started  off  at  a  fearful  pac^  whidi  the 


S18  AMONG  THK  8IAME8K  AND  TUH  LAO 
driver  in  v:iin  <  n<h  !iv..iiiv<1  m  .  -  ntinl.  1-orl.inatcly  it 
w  iis  nn  iin  n\H'n  i»lain  with  uo  woodn  or  trwH.  The  Ramo 
L'k  jthiint  on  a  itrevioM  occanion,  when  Mm.  McOllrary 
wan  rldtng  him,  on  notne  slight  aliuiii  ruHlu.l  in(u 
t\  ihnUci  "f  1<  "  '"'i'**; 

went  trashiug  Unough  the  Biandinj?  timber  In  the 
foiwt.  In  both  case*  It  was  nothing  but  tlu-  HtrenRth 
of  the  three-Btrand  attan  nhih  that  naved  cither  bow- 
ili.h  or  riflor.  Tl(e  oU  j.hant's  fiiHteHt  run  it*  not  a 
loiK'.  •  l»ut  a  liiud  (.r  l«»uR  swing  from  Bide  to  aide. 
It  ia  an  awful  aenaation.  I  never  was  in  an  earth 
qualte,  but  1  inMiRinc  IIh-  two  oxp^^riencea  must  he 
Bomewhat  similar,  with  the  fear  in  thia  case  of  being 
at  any  instant  daahed  from  yonr  lofty  perch  to  the 
ground. 

The  sporial  reason  for  this  trip  uas  the  fear  of  some 
collision  or  trouble  l)etween  the  povemraent  and  the 
Chriatlana  with  regard  to  the  Sunday  question.  Be- 
sides keeping  their  own  Sal.f.   h,  the  Christians  were 
forbidden  to  do  any  manual  work  on  the  Buddhist 
sacred  days  as  well,  making  altogether  eight  days  in 
each  month.   Had  the  rule  been  the  outcome  of  con 
Rcientious  samples  on  the  part  of  a  religioua  people  at 
seeing  their  sacred  day  destH-ratcd,  we  should  have  re- 
spected their  acruplea.   But  the  day  was  a  mere  holi- 
day, and,  except  by  a  few  of  the  more  religioi.s,  it  was 
larpplv  spent  in  hunting  and  fishing.    1  had  to  re- 
mind "the  governor  of  hia  beautiful  inconaiateiiey.  He 
would  not  allow  the  Chriatiana  to  uae  an  axe  or  a  plow 
on  sacred  davs,  while  the  people  generally  were  al- 
lowed to  kill  animals,  thus  breaking  the  most  stringent 
of  Buddha'a  laws.  He  muat  have  felt  the  force  of  the 
argumfflit.  f<»r  l>cfor.'  the  very  next  sacred  day  an 
order  was  issued  forbidding  hunting  aad  tisbing  on  it. 


CIRCUIT  TOUR  WITH  MY  DAUGHTER  819 


Bat  till  the  original  order  wag  revoked,  strict  obedi- 
ence was  enjoined  upon  the  Cliristians. 

The  Annual  Meeting  was  held  in  Laltawn  early  in 
December.  Just  before  it  convened,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W. 
A.  BriggB  and  Rev.  Robert  Irwin  arrived,  together  with 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples,  returning  from  furlough.  For 
the  present  these  were  stationed  at  Lakawn.  At  the 
same  time  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Stanley  K.  Phraner  were 
nearing  Chiengmal  on  (he  M6  Ping  fork.  Bnt  our 
song  of  joy  over  their  arrival  was  destined  soon  again 
to  have  a  sad  refrain.  The  two  young  brides  had 
scarcely  reached  their  hnsbands'  field  of  labour— which 
they  thought  was  to  be  theirs  also— when  they  were 
both  called  to  a  higher  sphere. 


XXIX 


LENGTHENING  THE  CORDS  AND  STRENGTH 
ENINO  THE  STAKES 

Wini.K  in  IIk-  T'nifed  Stish's,  Dr.  i'copies  had 
sucfwded  iu  procuriug  a  fi>ut  of  Lao  type, 
with  the  neceHs.ni7  equipnwnt  for  printing. 
For  twenty  three  years  we  h;id  used  only  the  Siamese 
Scrip! lives  and  literature.  With  many  present  dis- 
udvautages,  it  hacJ  some  compensations.  Those  who 
eoald  rwid  Siamese  had  access  to  the  whole  of  the 
Old  am\  N'ew  Testiiiiients.  Tlie  ]»ress  was  set  up  in 
Chiengmai,  and  lUn-.  D.  (1.  <:ollins  was  made  man- 
ager. The  first  printing  done  was  Mrs.  McGilvary's 
translation  of  flie  (Jospel  of  Mattliew. 

My  daughter  had  ix'en  sent  down  to  aid  the  I'hraners 
on  their  liver  trip.  Word  was  sent  alieatl  tliat  Mrs. 
Phraner  was  not  well.  As  they  drew  nearer,  her  con- 
diti<in  IxHiinie  so  criticnl  that  l>r.  MeKeiiii  luisteuHl 
with  all  speed  to  mett  them.  When  she  reached 
Chiengmai,  her  condition,  while  still  critical,  was  more 
hopefnl.  I  was  ready  to  start  (.n  my  tour  as  soon  as 
the  party  arriviHl.  When  I  left  home,  we  were  still 
hopeful  that  rest,  kind  nursing,  and  medical  treatmMit 
would  set  her  rif^t  again. 

During  my  absence  this  year  I  was  fortunate  en^aiKh 
to  receive  a  regular  weekly  mail  from  Chiengmai.  A 
Btatf  of  engiueerH  were  surveying  a  railroad  n)ute  for 
the  Siamese  government,  and  had  a  weekly  mail  sent 

390 


STHKNdTHENIXC;  THE  STAKP:S  .{21 

to  their  stations  along  the  line.  They  were  very  kind 
to  include  my  letters  also,  which  was  particularly  for- 
tunate in  that  ttw  I  could  have  news  of  tbe  inralid 

left  behind. 

I  have  learned  to  start  on  my  tours  with  very  flex- 
ible plans,  leaving  much  to  the  Kaidance  of  provi- 
dential ojieuings  on  the  way.  On  this  trip,  at  the  vil- 
lage of  Pang  Knii—which.  Ixm  ause  it  was  a  mile  or 
two  away  from  ilic  road,  I  had  not  vissited  in  seventeen 
years— I  was  delayed  three  days  by  a  reception  so  cor- 
dial that  1  could  not  ;>ass  on.  (»u  in.v  previous  trip  a 
man  from  the  village,  Noi  Teeho  In  name,  laine  with 
his  little  girl  across  to  our  camp  and  begged  us  to 
visit  it.  This  I  could  not  then  do;  but  he  remained 
with  us  til!  late  at  nifjht,  and  seen cd  to  bo  a  be- 
liever. I  now  found  that  in  the  interval  the  man  had 
kept  the  Sabbath,  and  had  given  such  other  evidmce 
of  his  sincerity,  that  we  could  not  refuse  his  reception 
to  the  communion  and  fellowship  of  the  cliun  li.  On 
the  last  night  of  our  stay  we  had  a  baptisuial  and  com- 
munion service  that  was  memorable.  The  man  made  a 
pood  confession  l)efore  many  witnesses,  and  bis  little 
daughter  was  baptized  as  a  non-communing  member. 

As  in  many  other  cases,  this  family  had  been 
driven  by  trouble  to  our  religion.  Originally  he  was 
the  slave  of  a  prince  in  Lakawn.  The  accusation  of 
Witchcraft  then  settled  t)n  the  family;  but  before  they 
were  driven  oif  tbe  Prince  compelled  them  to  borrow 
money  in  order  to  redeem  thciuselves  from  bim — to  do 
wbich  the  man  had  to  give  tw(»  of  his  children  as  se 
curity.  After  a  move  or  two,  he  was  driven  by  famine 
from  Lakawn,  and  came  to  this  village. 

One  m.  rning  at  Wienp  IM  ITio  I  was  summoned 
in  great  haste  to  attend  one  of  the  engineers  who 


t.  r, 


1 1 


i 


322  AMONCl  THH  RIAMESK  AND  THE  LAO 

was  thoufjlit  to  have  been  nearly  killed  by  a  fall  from 
a  runaway  horse.  I  found  that  he  had  broken  a  col- 
lar-bone, but  was  otherwise  uninjured.  I  applied  all 
of  my  amateur  surjiical  skill,  and  set  the  bone.  But 
my  patient,  naturally  enough,  could  not  feel  quite  sure; 
and  thonght  it  safer  to  go  down  to  our  hospital  and  get 
Dr.  McKean's  judgment  <»i  the  case.  He  toaad  the 
bone  8et  all  right. 

Late  one  Saturday  evening  I  reached  BSn  Pa  Hong 
in  Chieng  Rfti  province,  and  stopped  with  the  first 
Christian  family.  Next  day  1  learned  that  in  the  next 
section  of  the  village  there  was  a  Christian  girl  very 
low  with  consumption.  Early  on  Monday  morning  I 
moved  on,  but  was  only  in  time  to  see  a  lovely  form 
and  face  apparently  in  the  most  natural  sleep;  but 
the  living  soul  had  departed.  I  had  baptized  her  two 
years  before,  when  she  was  fourteen  years  of  age. 
She  had  been  sick  for  seven  months,  and  had  spent 
most  of  the  time  in  prayer.  It  made  me  inexpressibly 
sad  when  1  learned  that  her  strongest  desire  was  to  see 
her  own  "Paw  Krn"  brfore  she  departed.  On  the 
previous  evening,  when  she  heard  that  wf  had  reached 
the  village  near  by,  she  said,  "  And  the  Paw  Kru  is  at 
Koi  Lin's,  and  I  emmot  me  him!"  I  preached  her 
funeral  sensM,  md  mw      decottly  buried. 

The  next  Sunday  morning,  while  sitting  in  the  Mft 
Kawn  chapel  and  pwfwring  for  service,  I  looked  up 
and  saw  standing  on  tlif  frroiiml  before  the  door  some 
people  in  a  strange  costume  evidently  not  Lao,  looking 
in  as  if  in  doubt  whether  to  enter  or  not.  I  immedi- 
ately recognised  tiiem  as  belonging  to  (he  Mfiso  tril)e, 
(\\u\o  numfrous  in  the  mountains  near  b.v.  Thcii'  ready 
acceptance  of  my  inviiatiun  ti;  come  in  showed  that 


btri:n(;thenino  the  stakes  323 


they  were  waiting  to  be  aMked,  and  feared  only  lest 
thej  might  be  intrtiden.  As  the  Mflste  will  be  prmn- 
incnf  in  our  ujirrjitive  of  (his  and  the  two  following 
years,  a  word  of  introduction  mav  be  desirable. 

They  are  one  of  a  numerous  groii|>  of  hill  tribes  which 
have  gradually  followed  the  mountain  ridgea  down 
from  the  interior  of  the  continent.  They  live  under  a 
patriarchal  government,  if  it  may  be  rightly  called  a 
government  at  all ;  and  they  enjoy  great  personal  free- 
dom, though  the  authority  of  the  clan  approaches  very 
near  to  ahsolutc  despot i.su}.  They  are  worshippers  of 
spirits,  which  are  held  to  preside  over  the  universe 
and  the  destinies  of  men  goierally;  while  as  a  tribe 
they  are  under  the  Kunrdinnship  of  their  own  "  spirits." 
They  have  a  twelfth-day  sabbath  or  sacred  day,  not 
very  definitely  marked.  They  make  a  great  deal  of 
their  "kin  wii.v"  or  New  Year  feast,  when  all  com- 
mnniontion  witli  other  villages  even  of  Iheir  own  tril)e 
is  cut  off  during  the  live  or  seven  days  of  their  feasting. 
The  religioos  head  of  the  village  is  called  Pu  ChSn, 
and  the  head  Pu  Chun  of  a  province  holds  in  his  hands 
the  conscience  of  all  his  Hock. 

Their  manner  of  life  is  as  follows:  They  select  a  lo- 
cality, the  higher  ap  the  better,  near  the  soarce  of  a 
mountain  brook.  They  fell  the  trws  and  undergrowth 
at  llie  close  of  the  rainy  season,  let  them  dry  during 
the  hot  season,  and  Just  before  the  next  rainy  season 
set  fire  to  the  clearing  on  a  windy  day.  All  that  is 
readily  < ombnslihle  is  consumed,  leaving  the  logs  on 
the  ground.  With  a  small  hoe  or  a  narrow  spade  they 
make  shallow  openings  in  the  earth  some  tm  inches 
apart,  all  over  the  field,  and  deposit  in  each  a  dozen 
rice  grains,  njore  or  less.  The  rains  do  the  rest  till  the 
harvest.   The  second  year's  crop  is  the  best,  but  it  is 


324  AM()N<;  rm:  siamkse  and  the  lao 

seldom  iliai  lla'V  riiii  loniia-U'  wilh  ihe  scrub-growth 
for  a  third  vro\\  A  tcmiwrary  shack  ib  easily  erected, 
if  possible,  (•..iiti-iiiuns  to  three  clearings.  When  these 
are  abanduiu <1.  they  move  on  and  repeat  the  opera- 
tion elsewlierc.  l?.v  this  means  all  the  higher  moun- 
tains are  being  steadily  denuded  of  their  forests. 

Being  hound  by  no  s.vsleni  of  hoary  age  and  venerable 
associations,  like  Uuddhisni  or  Brahmanism,  most  of 
the  hill  tribes  are  very  receptive  of  the  Gospel.  Their 
clannishness,  liowever,  is  such  that  if  they  become 
Cliristians  at  all.  they  come  in  a  l)ody.  But  it  is 
very  ditlu  uU  for  individuals  or  families  to  brealc  away 
from  the  clan.  At  the  same  time  their  migratory  and 
unsettled  habits  are  by  no  means  favourable  to  their 
ediuaiion  and  civilization.  To  any  other  power  than 
that  of  the  «iospel  that  would  seem  to  be  a  hopeless 
task. 

But  to  return  to  our  visitors  at  the  chaj)cl.  There 
were  seveu  r.  eu  and  boys  in  the  i»arty.  The  spokes- 
man, Cha  Pii  Kaw,  was  tall  and  well  proportioned, 
with  Hie  Itearinj;  of  one  who  mij^lit  be  a  leader  of  some 
position,  lie  nndersinml  Lao  better  than  most  of  his 
tribe,  and  through  him  it  was  by  no  means  difficult 
to  draw  the  others  into  conversation.  They  were  from 
three  families  that  had  been  driven  down  nearer  the 
plain  by  accusation  of  witchcraft.  They  had  learned 
from  our  elder  that  Christians  were  not  afraid  of 
witchcraft,  nor  of  expulsion  from  the  country.  They 
had  !;lso  talked  over  with  him  Ihe  plan  of  salvation 
for  sinful  uieu  provided  in  the  (Jospel,  and  had  asked 
to  be  informed  whenever  we  should  come  again.  They 
readily  lonsented  to  remain  through  the  morning 
servii  c,  which  was  uiodilied  to  suit  the  needs  of  the  new 
audicme.   it  was  the  first  Christian  worship  they 


STRENGTHENING  THE  STAKES 


325 


had  ever  attended,  and  tliey  were  evidently  pleased. 
The  Christians  invited  them  t(i  share  their  dinner, 
and  the  muMt  uf  the  ufternuou  was  given  up  to  their 
ingtrnctitni.  The  hojn  were  put  to  reading  the  cate- 
chism and  learning  to  sinji  liic  Lao  version  of  "There 
in  a  Happy  Land."  They  remained  with  us  till  there 
was  only  light  ent«ugh  left  to  enable  them  to  tind 
their  way  home. 

Early  w\t  mo:  ning  we  crossed  the  plain  to  the  foot 
of  the  mountain,  where  we  siruek  thi*  little  brt»ok 
along  which  and  in  which  lay  our  pathway.  The  clirib 
was  a  stitV  one.  hut  with  u.)lt!e  outlooks  over  tlu'  |>1  lin 
below.  In  their  little  hamli-t  there  wi'iv  three  fam- 
ilies, or,  rather,  three  divisions  of  one  family,  num- 
bering twenty-six  souls.  By  their  intercourse  with 
the  Christians  at  lli«>  chaiK'l  tlic  soil  had  Imm'H  pre- 
pared for  the  seed.  So  from  niue  o'clock  till  noon  we 
addressed  ourselves  to  teaching  the  elders,  while  the 
liiildreu  were  IxMoming  moic  and  more  interested  in 
the  catechism,  and  esjiccialiy  in  the  •  Happy  Land." 

While  tlie  men  and  Iwiys  were  thus  engaged,  the 
grandmother  and  her  danghterH  were  busy  preparing 
dinner.  Wlien  all  was  ready,  the  sieaminjr  white 
rice  was  emptied  on  a  board  liue  that  on  which  our 
housewives  knead  their  bread.  W  ith  it  was  a  vegetable 
curry,  sweet  potatoes  steamed  over  the  rice,  bananas, 
and  other  fruits,  with  native  su<;:n  in  cakes  for  dessert. 
The  board  piled  with  f(M>d  was  set  l)ef«»re  me,  and  1  was 
invited  to  partake.  They  were  delighted  that  I  could 
eat  and  enjoy  ir. 

After  all  had  tinished  their  meal,  the  .'xen  ises  of 
the  morning  weit;  resumed,  with  the  women  now  dis- 
engaged and  free  to  listen.  Long  beforu  night  Cba  Pu 
Kaw  and  bis  brother-in-law,  Cha  Waw,  of  about  the 


326  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

Huuit  jiKf,  I  xi)re88ed  their  Ann  belief  In  the  tnith  of 
our  religion,  and  their  accfptunce  <»f  the  Oospel  offer 
as  far  as  they  nn»!erstn<i<l  it.  Tlie  women  Raid  they 
would  follow  their  husbands.  The  sun  was  already 
gettinj;  low  when  we  had  worship  together  before  lear- 
ill}?.  When  we  tamo  to  bid  our  liosts  good  bye,  we 
round  tiiiit  we  were  to  be  escorted  down  by  the  two 
elder  men  and  the  boys,  lest  a  tiger  might  meet  in  on 
the  way.  It  was  almost  darlc  when  we  reached  the 
cliiipel.    A  (lily  never  to  l»e  forj^otten: 

At  the  ehaiiel  I  found  letters  from  Chiengmai  bring- 
ing the  news  that  Mrs.  Phraner's  long  and  painful  suf- 
ferings were  ciiilcl.  She  died  on  February  13th.  .Vll 
that  thive  aide  |diysi»  ians  eoiild  do  was  done;  but  in 
vain.  Her  mother  and  her  family  were  never  willing 
that  she  should  become  a  missionary,  being  sure  that 
she  could  not  endure  the  straiu  of  a  missionary's  life. 
That  fart  tilled  the  husbands  cup  of  sorrow  to  over- 
ilowiug.  My  letter  stated  that  he  was  beside  himself 
with  grief;  that  the  physicians,  and.  in  fact,  the  whole 
mission,  slroii<j;!y  advised  him  to  join  me  on  my  tour; 
and  that  he  wouhl  learh  me  not  hmg  after  the  letter. 

On  the  following  Friday,  while  getting  the  new 
chili"  !  n  iidy.  I  heard  the  shout.  "  There  comes  the  new 
(.  achei  !  ■■  He  was  w.  ru  and  haggard,  and  visibly 
♦dder  than  when  1  left  him;  but  making  a  brave  effort 
to  be  cheerful.   He  said  very  little  of  his  great  loss. 

On  Sunday  the  vvli'd*-  Mfisn  village  was  on  hand  hmg 
before  the  hour  ior  wursiiip.  The  women  came  with 
their  bal»e»  tied  with  a  scurf  to  the  mother's  back,  ac- 
cording to  their  i  usf.mi.  The  news  that  they  were 
licKiMie  Clirisliiins  iiiid  spn-iid.  and  drew  a  larger  num- 
ber than  usual  of  our  n<»n  Christian  neighbours  to  the 
services.   The  Christians,  too,  were  greatly  enconr- 


STIMONCiTIIKNINti  TIIK  STAKKS 


aged  tiiereb^v.  In  the  afteroMun  u  few  of  the  tribe 
from  another  ril1«Ke  were  prettent,  and  liiitened  with 
HurpriHe  to  Cliu  Tu  Kjiw'n  tirHt  Hcrmon.  He  had  evi* 
dcntl^v  nitrrcd  ii|Min  his  new  fiiith  in  earnest}  and  was 

not  aHliuiiied  to  Loiii*  liiH  tehiiiuony. 

On  Monday  we  moved  on  to  Gbieng  Rili,  where  I  was 
to  dim  t  llic  r-cniiiviil  ai  a  botHW  to  the  lot  which  the 
tJovcrnor  luul  oflcml  us.  But  Mr.  I'liraiU'i-'H  condition 
demanded  niovi'nicnt  und  change  of  Nceue.  Arrange- 
mentH  were,  therefore,  made  to  Imtc  the  house  moved 
by  others,  wliiic  \\v  went  mi  ;i(  mice  to  t'hient;  Wn. 
There  we  found  lite  (-liao  Uparat  just  returned  from  a 
trip  via  MAang  Len  to  MAang  Sing,  some  hundred 
MiileH  or  HO  to  the  northeast  on  tlie  other  wide  of  tlie 
Mf'  Kontj  IJiver.  lie  was  profuse  in  his  [u-aise  both 
of  MOung  Siug  and  of  the  journey  thither;  and  BUg- 
gested  that  it  wonid  be  a  fine  opening  for  a  mission, 
and  .\  most  interesting  tour.  Tlie  sng^Htion  Heemcd 
attractive  to  U8  iMitli.  So,  jifier  a  weelc  of  w«»riv  in  the 
church  and  in  the  city  of  I'hieug  Sen,  we  started  for 
Mfiang  I.en  and  MAang  Sing. 

.Muan}:  Ix'n  is  the  common  market  centre  of  a  large 
number  ut  hill  tribcH  that  inhabit  the  mountain  ridges 
in  all  directions  round  about.  All  the  cities  and  towns 
north  of  Chieng  8*n  hold  a  fifth  day  fair  or  market. 
We  were  furtimate  in  striking  Jiiarket da.v  on  the  Satur- 
day of  our  arrival.  Early  in  the  morning  people  be- 
gan to  pour  into  the  place  from  all  directitms.  The 
mountain  tribes  came  out,  their  beaux  and  l)ell('.s  all 
in  gala  dress,  some  to  buy  and  sell,  and  otiiers  because 
It  was  their  weekly  holiday. 

From  Chienp  St^n  I  had  brought  along  Nin  8uwan, 
the  Lfi  elder,  who  had  coine  into  closer  contact  with 
these  mountain  tribes  than  had  our  elders  from  the 


328  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LlO 


south.  lie  could  make  the  nieu,  and  especially  the  head 
men,  understand  fairly  well.  To  all  who  understood 
the  Lao  I  could,  of  course,  speak  directly.  We  took 
our  stand  at  the  end  of  the  market,  and  the  crowd 
gathered  about  us.  None  of  them  had  ever  seen  a 
missionary.  None,  save  some  few  of  the  Lao  men,  had 
ever  read  a  book,  or  knew  even  a  letter  of  any  writ- 
ten language.  They  were  iliildren  of  nature,  artless 
and  unsophisticated.  We  pressed  home  the  thought, 
new  to  them,  that  there  must  be  a  maker  of  the  world 
and  of  all  creatures  in  it.  We  told  them  the  old,  old 
story  of  the  infinite  love  of  God,  our  Father,  and  of 
Christ,  His  Son,  who  suli'ered  and  died  to  save  us.  and 
of  pardon  freely  promised  to  all  who  believe  in  Him. 
This  is  the  final  argument  that  wins  these  people. 

After  the  merely  curious  among  the  crowd  had  with- 
drawn, this  doctrine  of  salvation  from  sin  held  the 
more  thoughtful,  and  brought  them  to  our  tent  in  the 
afternoon,  and  even  far  on  into  the  night.  The  head 
men  especially,  who  were  more  free  to  come  to  me, 
expressed  a  deep  personal  interest  in  the  new  doctrine. 
The  most  interested  and  interesting  man  was  Sto  Ra- 
tana,  the  governor  of  the  K6n  quarter  of  the  city.  We 
met  him  on  Sunday.  On  Monday  we  called  on  him  and 
spent  most  of  the  morning  at  his  house,  explaining  to 
him  the  i>lan  of  salvation  and  dictating  to  him  por- 
tions (if  Scri|ifMre  for  him  to  copy;  for  by  thir  time 
the  Lao  manuscript  copies  which  we  brought  with  us 
were  exhausted.  He  copied,  also,  the  first  few  ques- 
tions and  answers  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  hoping 
that  with  these  as  a  key,  he  could  learn  to  read  the 
Siamese  Gospel  and  catechism  which  1  gave  him. 

On  our  return  to  our  teat  on  Monday  evening  we 
found  almost  a  panic  among  our  people.  Some  law- 


STRENGTHENING  THE  STAKES  329 


less  men  had  lounged  iihout  the  tent  most  of  the  day, 
asking  suspicious  questions  about  how  much  money 
we  carried,  and  how  many  guns,  und  whither  we  were 
going  from  there,  etc.,  etc.  The  result  was  that  those 
who  Iiad  been  most  eager  for  the  trip  beyond  the 
Kong  to  Mftang  Sing,  began  now  to  beg  us  to  return. 
Mr.  Phraner,  moreover,  became  uneasy  about  his  bor- 
rowed elephant,  which  would  be  a  great  prize  for  rob- 
bers. So,  after  consultation,  it  was  decided  to  re- 
trace our  steps.  However  disappointing  this  might  be 
to  me,  I  had  at  least  learned  the  road  to  Mdang  Sing 
and  Mtiang  Yawng.  The  tonr  to  hotli  those  places,  and 
to  many  others,  was  only  deferred  to  the  following 
year,  when  we  might  hope  to  have  at  least  one  printed 
Gospel  in  the  Lao  language,  and  a  tract  or  two  to  dis- 
tribute. The  news  of  Cha  Pu  Kaw's  conversion  spread 
far  and  wide,  and  was  preparing  the  way  for  further 
work  among  his  tribe. 

Leaving  Mrtang  Len  on  Wednesday,  we  breathed  more 
freely  after  we  had  crossed  the  border  into  Siam.  On 
reaching  Chieng  Sen,  Mr.  Phraner  decided  to  return 
to  Chiengmai.  He  had  reaped  all  the  benefit  possible 
from  change  of  scene.  He  felt  that  he  <)ii<;lit  now  to  be 
in  his  future  home,  settling  down  to  a  systematic  study 
of  the  language.  Bnt  I  greatly  missed  his  pleasant 
company. 

The  object  of  the  missionary's  visit  to  an  outlying 
church  like  that  of  Chieng  Sen,  is  to  "  lengthen  the 
cords  and  strengthen  the  stakes"— to  awaken  the 
careless,  to  attract  the  indifferent,  and  to  deepen  im- 
pressions already  made.  Witliin  the  range  of  influence 
of  such  a  church  there  are  always  those  who,  though 
taught,  indeed,  by  its  native  officers,  still  need  further 
instruction  by  the  naissionary — ^who  have  objections  to 


330  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


be  met  and  doubts  to  be  resolved  beyond  the  power  of 
These  oflScers  to  cope  with.  Not  infrequently  some  one 
who  ig  already  a  believer  has  a  wife,  a  husband,  or  chil- 
dren on  whom  his  own  final  decision  dejicnds.  These 
must  be  Visited  in  tiieir  h<uiies.  Their  confidence  must 
be  won  and  their  friendship  gained  as  a  preliminary  to 
awakiMiinj;  (lioir  interest  in  our  religion. 

For  Die  salie  of  Hie  Cliristians  personally,  as  well 
as  for  the  worlc  in  general,  it  is  important  to  cultivate 
the  friendship  of  the  local  rulers.  It  is  to  them  that 
the  Christians  are  responsible.  And  then  the  Chris- 
tian families  must  be  visited,  their  children  instructed, 
their  difficulties  settled,  their  sick  be  treated,  and  in- 
structed how  to  treat  themselves  in  our  absence;  and 
as  much  Scriptural  teachin<r  is  to  be  given  as  our  time 
by  night  and  by  day  will  permit.  But  our  most  im- 
portant duty  is  to  instruct  toe  elders  themselves,  and 
give  them  an  uplift. 

When  my  work  in  (Jhieng  Sen  was  done,  I  started 
for  Chieng  Kawng,  taking  Nan  Suwan  along,  for  he 
was  well  known  there  and  in  most  of  the  region  to  be 
visited  as  far  as  (Hiieng  Rai.  The  Me  Taui,  already 
referred  to  as  the  stream  which  rises  from  under  the 
mountain  west  of  the  plain,  becomes  quite  a  river  as 
it  enters  the  Me  Kong  near  Chieng  S^n.  The  bottom 
land  is  covered  witli  reedy  grass  so  tall  that  a  large 
elephant  carrying  a  high  howdah  can  be  seen  only  a 
short  distance  away.  Here  we  lost  our  way  com- 
pletely, and  wandered  about  bewildered  for  a  long 
time. 

When  finally  we  reached  the  stream,  its  trough  was 
so  deep  that  we  failed  in  a  number  of  attempts  to  get 

down  to  tlie  water.  At  last  we  dui^  down  as  best  we 
could  the  edge  of  the  high  sandy  bank,  and,  after  much 


,1 


HTRENOTIIi:Niy(;  THE  STAKES  331 

P'-^^^^t  <>n  I'i"  part,  my  sadaw  trem- 

Jlid  like  an  al  , gator,  dragging  his  hind  legs  after  him 
till,  w,th  a  nughty  plunge,  we  landed  ir  deep  wate^' 
It  was  an  awful  sensation  for  the  rider.  TheXoe 
was  in  a  bayon  with  "back  water"  so  deep  as  o  be 
qn.  e  ovor  one's  head ;  and,  unlike  the  natives^  the  rider 
could  not  swim !   The  landing  on  the  further  Jo  JwL 
ittle  better.   There  the  elephant  struggled  up  Z 
bank  unt.l  he  got  his  forefeet  on  the  edge  above  Then 
wuh  a  gigantic  effort,  he  drew  himself 'npt^dS 
that  the  nder  had  to  hold  on  for  dear'^ife  to  a^^^ 
bemg  thrown  over  his  head.   It  was  a  feat  that  In  y 
an  elephant  could  perform,  and  one  would  n.nch  U"^ 

mg  the  operation. 
At  Chieng  Kawng  I  was  sorry  to  find  the  governor 

tTf^  t       l?""*"'  ^^''^'^'^^S  bis  ankle  and  bruis- 
ing  the  bone.   The  joint  had  been  barbarously  t,^ated 
.•as  fearfully  swollen,  and  caries  of  the  bone  h  d  /v 
dently  set  ,n.    I  urged  him  to  take  an  elephant  and 
go  to  our  hospital,  as  the  only  pcs^^ble  chance Tf  eu^^ 

to  do  so  a  ter  trying  somewhat  longer  the  incantations 
of  a  noted  sorceress,  who  was  believed  to  luave  g^t 
power  over  wounds.  It  almost  passes  belief  tlmC! 
ai»  mte  ligent  man  conld  have  any  faith  in  it.  Yet  "ea 
son  and  r.dicule  alike  failed  to  dispel  the  hope  that 
d  c'tJS'' After"':       ^  ^-"'^  -^^'^  '^-e  befn  prl* 

While  I  was  in  Chieng  Kawng,  a  Nto  prince  re- 
turning  from  Mfiang  Sing  brought  the  news  Sat  ne^ 


832  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


tiations  then  on  foot  l)etween  France  iuul  Siuni  would 
put  a  stop  to  all  further  sottkMucnt  of  that  district; 
would,  in  tact,  transfer  the  whole  region  east  of  the 
M£  KOng  to  Prance.  The  Prince  of  Nfln  was  greatly 
disappointed:  but  little  did  we  tlii  '  that  the  transfer 
would  ultimately  prove  an  effectual  barrier  to  our  work 
also.  It  is  surely  one  of  the  anomalies  and  anachro- 
nisms of  the  twentieth  century  that  a  Christian  naiion 
of  Euro[>e  should  oppose  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity into  a  region  over  which  it  has  absolute  control ! 

On  the  last  night  before  v  e  left,  all  the  princes  and 
ofScers  came  to  see  us,  and  remained  till  midnight. 
They  were  as  loath  to  have  us  leave  them  as  we  were 
to  go. 

The  journey  from  Chieng  Eawng  was  intaisely  hot; 

the  tliermonictor  stand'  at  lOir  in  my  howdah  by 
day,  and  on  one  night  in  my  tent  at  90°.  On  the  banks 
of  the  M€  Ing  1  found  native  white  roses  in  bloom 
in  abundance,  and  brought  home  with  me  a  plant 
which  Mrs.  McOilvary  greatly  [irized.  for  this  was  the 
only  native  rose  I  had  found  in  the  Lao  territory. 

On  the  way  to  Mftang  T6ng  I  passed  the  camp  of 
Chao  Wieng  Sa,  a  Nan  prince  whom  I  had  met  in 
his  home  on  two  former  visits.  He  was  overseeing  the 
felling  and  running  of  teak  timber  down  the  Mfi  Ing 
and  the  M6  Kong  to  LGang  PraL  ".ng. '  He  had  received 
and  road  a  Siamese  New  Testament,  was  iiuite  familiar 
with  tbe  life  and  teachings  of  -Jesus,  aud  admired  His 
character.  A  lawsuit  afterwards  hi  ought  him  to 
Chiengmai,  where  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him.  He  was 
surely  a  believer  at  heart.  To  me  he  was  willing  to 
confess  that  his  only  hope  was  in  Jesus  Christ,  but  was 
not  ready  to  make  a  public  profession  of  his  faith.  I 
love  to  think  of  many  such  whom  I  have  met  as  like  the 


STRENOXnENING  THE  KTAKES 


333 


f '.ainaliels,  the  Nicodemuses,  and  the  Josephs  of  Christ's 
day. 

At  Mdang  T6ng,  as  Boon  as  I  diwnonnted  from  my 

el  phant  an  ofTiciT  met  me  to  enquire  who  I  was.  and 
to  escort  me  to  the  public  sala.    I  soon  learned  that  he 
was  the  brother  of  another  officer  whom  I  had  found 
on  the  road  to  Cbieng  Kai  the  .year  before,  unable  to 
travel  and,  apparently,  sick  unto  death  with  fever.  Ilia 
company  could  not  linger  indefinitely  in  the  forest, 
and  BO  had  left  him  there  with  two  mai  to  watch  him, 
and  probably  to  see  him  die.    A  dose  of  calomel,  and 
the  cpiinine  which  I  left  with  instructions  as  to  its 
use,  seem  to  have  cured  his  fever  and  enabled  him  to 
reach  his  home  in  safety.   He  was  himself  now  ab- 
sent, but  his  brother's  heart  had  been  opened  to  friena 
ship',  and  he  did  all  that  he  could  for  my  comfort.  At 
night  he  invited  his  friends  to  the  8&1&  to  meet  me, 
and  we  had  an  interesting  evening.    In  all  these  places 
Nan  Suwan  and  Noi  Siri  would  often  be  heard  talk- 
ing to  tue  audience  after  I  had  retired,  and  nntil  sleep 

closed  my  eyes. 

r  ,;i.  absence  from  Chieng  Rai  a  case  of  op- 

pre*  dt  least,  of  evident  injustice,  on  the  part 

of  thb  had  led  our  friend  the  goveraor  to  take  all 
Christians  under  his  personal  protection  as  his  own 
dependents.  The  kindness  was  well  meant,  and  we 
thanked  him  for  it.  But  I  doubted  its  wisdom.  The 
only  scheme  nnder  which  Christianity  can  really  estab- 
luah  itself  in  all  lands,  is  to  have  Christians  stand  on 
precisely  the  same  level  before  the  law  as  Buddhists 
or  Brahmans  or  *he  followers  of  any  other  religion. 

Prom  Chieng  Bai  the  elders  were  sent  on  to  Cha  Pa 
Kaw's  village  to  see  how  the  Miis6s  were  getting  on.  I 
followed  them  in  a  day  or  two.   When  I  reached  the 


A.M<»N(J  Tf    SIAMKSH  AND  THH  LAO 


rhaiM'l  ill  M(*-  Kiiwii,  the  elderH  had  returned  frou;  the 
Mu8(i  village  with  a  glowing  account  of  their  con- 
Rtancy.  This  the  tentimony  of  Noi  Taiiya  and  of  all 
the  Lflo  Christ iims  (  (tnflrnied.  They  had  not  missed  a 
single  Sunday  service;  old  and  young  alike  came,  and 
mothers,  us  before,  bringing  their  children  tied  on  their 
backs.  They  had  shamed  tlif  Lfio  Christians  by  their 
••arnestness.  gcDinj:  (..  (lie  chapel  first,  studying  hard, 
and  returning  houie  late. 

On  Saturday  morning  the  whole  village  came  down, 
and  we  spent  the  day  logotlier.  Tlicy  remained  that 
night  as  the  guesis  ol'  (lie  Luo.  The  next  day,  Sun- 
day, was  largely  given  up  to  their  instruction.  They 
all  bad  renounced  the  worship  of  spirits ;  they  all  ac- 
cepted Jesus  as  tluMr  Saviour;  they  were  all  diligently 
learning  to  read  and  to  sing.  Their  conduct  was  most 
consistent ;  they  had  a  good  reflex  inflnence  upon  the 
church;  and  their  conversion  was  an  astonishment  to 
the  non-Chri-^tian  community. 

These  Musos  had  all  come,  ex[)ecting  to  join  the 
church.  They  had  been  taught  that  public  baptism — 
confessing  Christ  l)efon  men — was  the  consummating 
act,  the  external  seal  of  their  initiation  into  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  church.  Although  we  impressed  upon 
them  that  they  were  not  saved  by  the  mere  ceremony 
of  baptism,  yet  snniphow  tlicy  folt  that  wi  hout  it  they 
were  not  quite  in  the  church,  and  hent  e  probably  not 
quite  safe  from  the  spirits.  Since  it  would  be  nearly 
a  year  before  they  would  have  another  opportunity,  it 
seemed  unwise  not  to  receive  some  of  them  at  this 
time.  The  greatest  doubt  was  about  Cha  Waw.  Yet 
he  felt  that  more  than  any  other  he  needed  whatever 
protection  and  assistance  the  church  could  afford  him. 
He  had  begun  with  his  whole  strength  to  break:  the 


stkex(}tiii:mn(}  the  stakes  m 

cbaiUH  of  big  opium  h:il.i(.  (<»  stt'k  panloii  iind  be  save<l. 
He  fdt  confident  that  with  God's  help  he  would  suc- 
ceed. 

The  final  decision  was  ti.at.  in  nnh>i'  to  hind  them 
to  the  service  of  Christ,  tlioy  were  all  to  appear  J.i'fore 
the  Mision  and  make  their  profession;  hut  that  only 
the  two  old  men  should  be  receired  Into  full  com- 
munion, and  that  one  grandson  from  each  family  lie 
baptized  as  uou  c«»mmuning  members.    It  was  Ihought 
best  to  let  the  others  wait  till  our  next  visit;  though  I 
have  never  been  satisfied  that  they  should  not  all  have 
been  admitted  .hat  day.    Three  of  these  Mfiso  boys 
accompanied  me  to  Chiengmai  on  my  i-eturu,  and  en- 
tered the  Boys'  School.   It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that, 
in  surroundings  so  different  from  ih(»se  of  their  moun- 
tain homes,  they  presenlly  grew  lonesome  and  home- 
sick.  But  they  were  satisfactory  pupils,  and  re- 
mained in  school  long  enough  to  get  a  good  start  in 
reading  and  singing. 

Cha  Waw,  after  a  manful  struggle,  finally  succeeded 
in  breaking  away  entirely  from  his  opium— by  the  help 
of  prayer  and  of  quinine,  as  he  always  believed  and 
affirmed.  When  the  non-Christian  tribesmen  with 
their  opium  pipes  visited  his  village,  he  wa.s  accus- 
tomed to  go  down  to  the  elders  at  m  Kawn,  to  be  away 
from  temptation,  and  under  Christian  intluence.  He 
lived  a  number  of  years  after  this  to  attest  the  realitv 
of  his  victory— the  only  case  I  have  ever  known  where 
the  victory  was  surely  won. 

That  year  there  was  a  famine  among  all  the  hill 
tribes.  The  upland  rice  was  almost  entirely  cut  off 
by  a  plague  of  rats.  I  do  not  believe  in  "  rice  Chris- 
tians"; but  vhen  peo].le  are  famishing  with  hunger, 
I  believe  in  feeding  them,  whether  they  are  Christiana 


83fl  AMONG  THR  BIAMKSE  AND  THK  LAO 


or  not.  Tlii'su  did  luil  u«k  jiiiior  fur  iikuu*^  (»r  for  any 
other  aid.   But  when  I  left  them,  I  made  arrangiNnent 

with  tlic  I.ai)  ('Idem  to  furnish  (hem  witli  sixty  ImckftH 
of  rice,  for  wliirh  I  paid  teu  rupees  iu  udvuuit:.  They 
were  very  gratefnl  for  the  aid. 

Tlie  days  n\mit  among  the  Mflada  that  week  were  in- 
Kliiriiij;.  (Jhiwiun  visions  jiidsc  Itcfdii'  tis  of  a  new 
trilje  brought  into  the  Chrisliau  i-hunh,  of  which  thi'He 
were  the  flrst  fniitH.  On  thin  whole  tour,  indeed,  only 
nim^  iidiiKs  iimi  si'venteen  <  hildren  wm*  biipli/.i'd.  But 
iu  addition  to  tlu>  opi'niii<;  of  work  ainon^  the  MilsAs, 
we  liati  for  the  tlrst  time  preached  tlie  (losjwi  beyond 
the  bordera  of  the  kingdom  of  8iam ;  und  oar  longing 
eyes  were  turned  toward  llie  Sipsawn^  I'annfi,  and 
beyond  tlie  greut  river.  By  tbiH  time  tlie  ruius  had 
already  I>egun  to  fall.  A  new  aeaRon  waR  needed  to 
fulfil  our  desires. 

Much  as  I  yUvav'-  enjoy  niy  lonj,  tours,  when  my 
work  is  done  and  my  face  at  last  is  turned  homewards, 
the  gait  of  my  Midaw  seems  distressingly  slow.  On 
reacliinjj  (Miienfjniai  I  found  all  in  fair  iiealth,  and 
all  departments  of  work  in  full  «»i>eratiou.  But  while 
1  was  still  ou  my  way,  word  reached  me  of  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Briggs  in  Lakawn,  only  a  month  and  nine  days 
after  that  of  Mrs.  lMiran(>r.  So  unexpected  was  it 
that  1  was  not  even  aware  that  she  had  been  ill.  In 
answer  to  my  request  for  a  few  particulars  from  Dr. 
Briggs,  I  have  received  the  following,  which  I  know  he 
will  excuse  me  for  transferring  to  these  pa|^ : 

"  Mrs.  Alice  Hamilton  Bbiogs  was  from  Truro,  Nova 
Scotia.  Although  within  a  year  of  graduation,  she  gave  up 
her  medical  course  and  accompanied  her  husband  to  the 
L?o  mission  in  answer  to  the  call  of  tin-  Board.  When  she 
bade  good-bye  to  the  Secretaries  of  the  Board,  Dr.  Gillespie 


wti{i:n(jthening  the  stakes  as? 

In  hf,  r^r^t  y...  „r.  l.aor  ..ff  tlm,.  your  husb.nA  S 

down  „„  tlu  fidd.  that  we  an  glad  toL  SLt,™.  " 
Kw  rvo  „f  health.'  «>      that  you  havc  • 

"Beforu  leaving  Ami  ri-  an  shores  how^vor  «  . 
thatthe.....^^^^ 

to  allow  l,..r  f..m  S  at  hoL               ^^^u**  ''^  ""^"^^ 

Saturday  she  Z  cuttinH.;  ,  ,       f  On 

baC  too  Ute  e«;:;-heii  Xtr^^tnJSl-'" 

th Jf^ill 7!^"**'  to  u«  as  a  family  during 

.e  fall  of  fh.s  year,  1S91,  was  the  arrival  of  our  Z 
Lvander  w.H.  his  ,o„n.  hndo.  and  onr  .l.ngkZmr- 
garet,  to  carry  on  the  work  begun  by  theS  paren^^^ 
)"r  son  had  ntade  special  pi^ratlon  for  tl^l'Zl 
the  t^cripturos  info  the  Lio  lanffnaae.  th«i.  !-  ! 
pressing  need  of  the  minion. 


XXX 


AMONG  THE  MUSO  VILLAGES— FAMINE 
"^OR  the  tour  of  1892  T  was  to  have  the  company 


of  r>r.  McKoan  as  lonji  as  he  could  be  spared 


from  (Miienpniai,  which  would  greatly  enhance 
the  value  of  the  trip.  We  bad  also  three  native 
evanf^elist-asRistants,  and,  last,  bnt  not  least,  we  were 
well  supplied  with  Scriptures  and  tracts  in  the  Lfto 
dialect.    Our  start  was  made  on  January  Sth. 

Our  first  two  Sundays  and  the  intervening  week  we 
spent  in  Wieng  P&  Pao,  where  we  established  onrselyes 
in  the  new  chapel  which  the  people  themselves  had 
built  since  our  last  tour.  We  observed  the  Week  of 
Prayer  with  two  chapel  services  daily,  and  house-to- 
house  and  heart-to-heart  work  in  the  intervals.  The 
church  was  foiiiially  org:anized  with  thirty-six  adult 
members  aud  thirty  children,  three  ruling  elders,  and 
two  deacons. 

From  Wieng  Pa  Pao  we  moved  on  to  the  village  of 
Me  Kawn,  the  centre  of  our  very  interesting  work  of 
the  previous  year  among  the  Muso  tribe.  The  Sun- 
day we  spent  there  was  a  red-letter  day  in  our  mis- 
sir)nary  life.  Of  it  Dr.  McKean  writes:  "This  baa 
been  a  bles.sed  day.  All  [of  the  Musos]  desire  baptism. 
Two  boys  baptized  last  year  were  admitted  to  the 
communion.  Eleven  other  adults  and  seven  children 
were  bajitized,  making  Iweni  vtwo  Musos  now  members 
of  the  visible  church.   One  Lao  girl  was  received  on 


AMONG  THE  MUSd  VILLAGES  339 

confession,  and  three  Lao  children  were  baptized.  Our 
Christian  Musos  were  out  in  full  force.  A  Mus/S  of- 
fleer  and  others  not  Christians  attended  from  another 
village  Before  this  we  had  visited  these  people  in 
their  home..  We  found  that  thoj  had  built  a  good 
chapel  for  their  worship,  a  better  building  than  e.ther 
of  their  own  houses.  They  had  been  very  diligent  in 
observing  the  Sabbath,  in  studying  the  catechism,  and 
m  worship."  ' 

We  could  not  have  been  better  pleased  with  our  first 
success    The  exclusion  of  this  little  group  from  the 
arge  villages  made  it  possible  and  easy  for  all  of  them 
to  become  Christians.    The  whole-hearted  zeal  with 
which  they  entered  the  church  awakened  strong  hopes 
for  the  conversion  of  their  race.   Cha  PS  Kaw's 
knowledge  of  the  Lao  tongue  was  above  the  average 
even  of  their  head  men.    It  would  be  a  long  time 
fore  we  could  have  another  such  interpreter  and  as- 
..stant.   And  he  was  nearly,  or  quite, "Seventy  yea^ 
old;  so  that  whatever  he  was  to  do  in  teaching  h" 
people  must  be  done  soon.    It  was,  therefore,  thought 
best  to  make  a  strong  effort  through  him  and  his  fam- 
ily during  that  season. 

At  our  next  stopping-place,  Xang  L^,  we  came  near 
having  a  senous  casualty.  Our  boys  were  out  on  a 
deer  hunt,  and  one  of  them  bethought  him  of  a  novel 

^rfn  ^«  ^'^^^^  a  tree, 

and  had  the  grass  fired  on  the  other  side  of  the  open 

space.   The  grass  was  tall  and  dry,  and  the  wind  blew 

ng  for  the  deer  that  he  forgot  the  fire,  till  it  was  too 
late  to  flee.  He  could  climb  beyond  the  actual  flames- 
but  meanwhile  the  whole  air  had  become  like  the  breath 
of  a  furnace.  When,  at  last,  the  Are  had  swept  past 


340  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
him,  and  he  was  able  to  descend,  he  was  a  mass  of 
blisters.   The  swiftness  of  the  ru.su  of  the  fire  alone 
saved  his  life.   Had  it  been  slower,  he  could  not  hare 
escaped  suffocation. 

From  Nang  U  we  visited  a  very  large  Muso  village. 
It  was  a  steep  fc.ot  olimb  of  four  solid  houis,  and,  to 
make  it  longer,  our  guide  missed  the  way.   The  first 
sign  of  human  life  we  saw  was  a  Muso  girl  alone  watch- 
ing a  clearing.    She  Hed  for  dear  life,  till,  recognizing 
Cha  Pu  Kaw's  Muso  speech,  she  stopped  long  enough 
to  point  the  way  to  the  village.   Her  fleet  steps  out- 
pan  ours,  and  when  we  reached  the  village,  the  people 
were  already  assembling  to  see  the  unwonted  sight  of 
the  white  foreigners.   But  the  community  was  greatly 
disturbed  over  another  matter.   One  of  their  leading 
officers,  it  seemed,  was  accused  of  being  the  abode  of  a 
demon  that  had  caused  an  epidemic  of  disease.  The 
authorities  were  hourly  waiting  for  an  order  from  the 
court  in  Chieng  Rai  to  expel  him  and  his  family  by 
force  from  the  province.    They  had  heard  of  Cha  1  u 
Kaw's  conversion,  and  were  anxious  to  hear  from  him- 
self his  reasons  therefor— which  he  gave  and  enforced 
till  late  in  the  night.    They  were  expecting,  however, 
on  the  morrow  a  regular  condict  which  might  result 
in  bloodshed,  and  they  evidently  preferred  that  we 
should  not  be  there.   The  head  Pu  Chan  was  several 
days'  journey  distant.   They  would  confer  together 
among  themselves  and  with  him,  would  let  us  know 
the  result,  and  would  invite  us  up  again  before  we 
left  their  neighbourhood. 

About  midnight  a  fierce  storm  of  wind  and  ram 
broke  upon  us  to  our  great  discomfort.  Our  thm  tmt 
afforded  but  poor  protection.  We  doubled  up  our  bed- 
ding over  our  clothes,  and  sat  upon  the  pile  under  our 


AMONG  THE  MUSO  VILLAGES  341 


umbrellas,  and  laughed  at  the  novelty  of  our  situation 
and  the  poor  prospect  of  a  night's  sleep.  But  later 
the  storm  passed  oflP,  and  we  did  get  a  little  sleep. 
Our  visit  to  that  group  of  MilsA  villages  was  evidently 
not  well  timed.  We  took  tlie  advice  of  their  oflScers, 
and  returned  to  NOng  lA. 

Two  days  latei-  vo  readied  CliienR  S^n.  Here  we  re- 
ceived a  mail  from  home,  with  news  that  Mrs.  McKean 
was  not  well,  and  other  members  of  the  station  needed 
the  doctor's  presence.  It  w  as  expressed  as  "  the  unani- 
mous judgment  of  tlie  station  that  he  should  return 
immediately."  We  had  planned  a  regular  campaign  in 
the  MSsd  districts  on  both  sides  of  the  M6  KOng— the 
sort  of  trip  in  which  t!ie  medical  missionary  finds  his 
best  opportunity.  But  the  recall  was  so  imperative 
that  it  could  not  be  ignored.  So  I  was  left  to  continue 
the  work  alone. 

The  Miisd  tribe  was  about  equally  numerous  in  the 
mountain  ranges  on  both  sides  of  the  big  river.  On 
the  east  side  there  were  eleven  villages.  It  seemed  ad- 
visable to  take  that  section  first,  because  they  were  un- 
der Cheng  H^n  rulers,  of  whose  cordial  and  sincere  in- 
terest in  our  work  we  were  sure.  S6n  Chai,  the  head 
man  of  the  large  village  nearest  to  the  city,  was  a 
friend  of  Nan  Suwan,  and  was  strongly  inclined  to 
embrace  our  religion;  but  felt  the  diflSculty  of  break- 
ing the  tribal  bond.  Before  this  I  had  made  him  a 
visit  of  two  or  three  days,  and  saw  clearly  that  our 
only  chance  of  accomplishing  anything  was  to  gain  all 
the  head  men  of  the  eleven  villages.  It  was  actually 
easier  to  win  over  the  whole  as  a  unit  than  to  win  it 
piecemeal.  This  was  a  formidable  task  to  undertake, 
but  with  God's  blessing  on  the  labours  of  Cba  Pu 
Kaw  and  Nan  8uwan,  it  seemed  not  impossible. 


342  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

We  set  out  for  the  lirst  village  one  moniin!;  shortly 
aften  ton  o'clock.    1 1  was  four  o'clock  when  we  stopped 
for  rest  at  the  first  cluster  of  houses  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  settlement.   The  news  of  our  arrival  soon 
reached  the  main  villa-c.    When  we  started  again  we 
met  S.-n  Cliai  with  a  regular  serenade-party  of  ineu 
and  boys  with  uative  reed  instruments,  blowing  their 
plaintive  dirgelike  music,  to  welcome  us  and  escort 
us  in.    SO..U  the  population  was  all  assembled— the 
maidens  in  their  best  sarongs,  the  mothers  and  grand- 
mothers each  with  an  urchin  strapped  to  her  back  by 
her  scarf,  the  men  coming  in  from  their  work,  and  the 
inevitable  crowd  of  children.   Cha  Pii  Kaw  was  al- 
ready answering  their  questions,  with  NSn  Suwan's 
sympathetic  aid.   They  were  respectfully  shy,  but  there 
was  no  cringing.    Sen  Chai  invited  the  local  Pu  Chan 
and  all  the  villagers  to  assemble  after  their  evening 
meal  to  hear  the  new  uoctrines.   We  first  had  worship 
with  singing,  and  prayer  by  Cha  Pil  Kaw.    It  was  the 
lirst  time  thev  had  heai  i  the  (Ireat  Spirit  addressed 
in  their  own  Muso  tongue.    There  were  frequent  ex- 
clamations of  delight  that  they  were  able  to  under- 
stand every  wonl. 

And  then,  before  that  motlc-y  crowd,  drinking  with 
them  their  uative  tea  from  an  earthen  teapot,  the  men 
seated  close  around,  or  reclining  as  they  smoke  their 
pipes,  the  women  and  children  walking  about  or  sitting 
on  the  ground— we  tell  of  God  the  great  Spirit,  the 
Creator,  and  Father  of  all— the  Bible,  His  message  to 
men— the  incarnation,  life,  and  death  of  (Christ,  and 
redemj.tion  thn.ugh  His  blood.  Before  we  get  through 
you  Will  hear  man  after  man  say,  "  I  believe  that.  It 
is  true."  OuL  man  takes  up  the  story  from  Cha  Pu 
Kaw'8  mouth  and  repeats  it  to  another— a  story  that 


AMO\(J  TFTi:  Ml  SO  VFLLAOER 


343 


till  now  be  himself  had  never  heard.  Another  says, 
"  N&n  Suwan  has  told  us  this  before,  but  now  we  hear 
it  from  the  father-teacher." 

Before  we  retired  that  night  Sto  Chai  said  to  us. 
with  the  approval  of  most  of  his  village,  "  Go  on  lo 
Sdn  Bun  Tuang  and  the  head  men  of  t'je  other  villages. 
If  they  agree,  we  will  all  accept  Christianity.  One  vil- 
lage cannot  arcfpt  it  alone.  If  we  do  not  *  kin  waw ' 
with  them — join  in  their  New  Year's  feast — we  shall 
be  treated  as  enemies  by  the  whole  tribe.'' 

So,  nt'xt  morning,  we  set  out  to  ^"::1  the  great  Pii 
Chan — the  religions  head  of  the  province.  On  our 
way  to  his  village  we  fell  in  with  a  man  to  whom  Cha 
Pfl  Kaw  was  spealcing  with  great  earnestness.  I  found 
on  approaching  him  that  he  was  not  a  Muso,  but  a  Kui 
■  -of  a  tribe  which  we  had  planned  to  visit  later.  He 
was  the  Pn  Chin  of  his  village.  He  had  already  in- 
vited us  through  Chf.  Pu  Kaw  to  change  our  plan, 
and  visit  his  village  tirst.  It  was  nearer  than  the  vil- 
lage we  were  intending  to  visit,  and  we  were  already 
tired  enongh  with  our  climb  to  be  willing  to  stop  at 
the  nearest  place. 

The  village  was  a  large  one,  as  mountain  villages  go 
— of  twenty-five  or  thirty  houses,  and  from  two  hundred 
and  fifty  to  three  hundrel  souls — in  tremM-al  act  un- 
like the  JIuso  villages  we  had  seen.  The  f'u',  language 
also,  while  different  from  the  Muso,  is  cognate  wiia  it, 
BO  that  Cha  Pii  Kaw  could  still  act  fairly  well  as  our 
interpreter.  His  talk  with  the  Pii  Chan  on  the  way 
had  already  laid  a  good  foundation  for  our  work  in  the 
evening,  when  curiosity  and  interest  in  our  errand 
brought  the  whole  village  together  to  h«tr  Cha  PS 
Kaw's  new  doctrine  from  his  own  lips.  The  news  of 
his  conversion  had  already  reached  them,  and  he  had 


844  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

made  a  good  impression  on  the  religious  head  of  the  vil- 
lage—And, then,  it  was  something  new  to  see  the  Miisd 
boys  able  to  read  and  to  sing.  Nan  Suwan  and  Cha 
Pfl  Kaw  led  in  prayer,  the  one  in  Lfto  and  the  other  in 
M086.  Then  our  religion  was  explained  in  its  two 
leading  ideas— rejection  of  the  spirit-cult,  and  accept- 
ance of  Jesus  for  the  pardon  of  sin  and  the  life  eternal. 
Questions  were  asked  and  answered. 

At  last  the  Pii  Chan  suggested  that,  while  we  con- 
tinued our  reading  and  singing  with  the  women  and 
children,  he  and  the  men,  with  Cha  Pfi  Kaw,  withdraw 
to  a  neighbouring  house  and  talk  the  matter  over.  It 
was  evident  that  they  would  be  more  at  their  ease  by 
themselves,  unawed  by  the  presence  of  the  foreign 
teacher.   For  some  two  hours  the  debate  continued. 
I  could  hear  their  earnest  voices  from  the  neighbour- 
ing house,  with  only  now  and  then  a  Lao  word  that  I 
could  understand.   Then  they  returned  to  make  their 
report.   With  orioital  politeness,  they  expressed  their 
gratitude  to  the  "  great  teacher"  who  had  come  so  far 
and  at  such  expense,  and  had  brought  with  him  a  fel- 
low-mountaineer of  theirs,  to  teach  them,  creatures  of 
the  jungle,  the  way  to  happiness.   They  had  talked 
these  matters  over,  and  understood  them  somewhat,  but 
not  fully.   Some  were  greatly  pleased  with  the  teach- 
ings, and  believM  them  true.    Hut  they  could  not  yet 
come  as  an  entire  village,  and  they  dared  not  separate. 
Next  morning  we  parted  as  friends.    They  were  glad 
that  we  had  found  the  way  to  their  village.   "  Be  sure 
to  come  again! "  That  I  thought  surely  I  should  do; 
but  this  proved  to  be  my  only  visit. 

At  the  Sen  Luang's  village,  where  the  great  Pfl  Chftn 
lived,  we  had  the  same  experience— a  good  reception, 
many  apparently  inter^ted  and  anxious  to  escape  their 


AMONG  THE  MUSO  VILLAGES  345 


own  spirit-worsbip.  A  number  of  tbe  bead  men  said, 
"  If  suck  and  sach  a  village  accepta  the  Jesna-relic^on, 
we  will."  But  no  one  coul^^  be  found  to  face  the  clan 

and  make  a  start. 

Tbiuking  tbat  our  native  evangelists  might  get  at 
tbe  heart  of  the  people  all  tbe  better  if  left  to  do  it 

alone,  ami  l)oing  anxious  to  got  my  mail  from  home,  I 
went  down  on  Saturday  to  Nan  iSuwan's  to  8[jend  the 
Sunday  there  with  the  Christians.  On  Tuesday,  to  my 
disappointment,  tbe  evangelists  returned  to  me  dis- 
couraged. They  were  convinced  that  in  the  dis- 
trict east  of  the  Me  Kung  River,  uo  break  in  tbe 
solidarity  of  the  clan  could  be  accomplished  that 
season. 

But  it  was  important  not  to  leave  these  people  with 
tbe  impression  that  we  had  abandoned  them.  I  bad 
left  Sto  Chai's  village  with  the  promise  to  return.  So 
I  went  up  with  the  Must)  Christian  boys,  and  spent  a 
last  night  with  tbem.  The  village  again  assembled, 
and  we  had  an  interestiug  evening.  The  S^n  was 
greatly  disappointed  that  none  of  the  other  villages 
would  join  him.  But  the  New  Year  was  at  hand,  wheu 
the  clan  must  be  unbroken.  They  would  wait  anotb  r 
year,  and  try  to  get  the  other  villages  to  join  them.  On 
the  whole,  I  was  encouraged.  When  we  left  them  we 
were  escorted  out  of  the  village  to  the  music  of  their 
pl<iintive  flutes,  more  like  a  victorious  than  a  van- 
quished army. 

After  11  day  or  two  with  the  Chieug  Sen  church,  we 
visited  the  ridge  to  the  southeast  of  tbat  city,  between 
it  and  Chieng  Kawng.  Our  experience  there  was  but 
a  repetition  of  that  from  which  we  were  just  come — 
cordial  receptions,  night  audiences,  manifest  interest, 
individual  believers,  anxious  consultations,  promises 


846  AMONG  THE  SIAMErtK  AND  THH  LAO 

f„r  (bo  next  year;  but  the  tribal  bond  was  too  strong 

to  Ik'  bniken.  v    u  *. 

But  CUa  pa  Kaw  was  anxious  that  we  should  not 
pass  by  his  own  mountain  villages  ou  thf  MA  Kok.  So 
we  turuL'd  southward  again  toward  Chieug  Kai.  ThiH, 
moreover,  was  uue  of  tliose  famine  years,  such  as  we 
have  already  encountered  in  our  story,  and  shall  en- 
counter vet  again;  niany  people  wore  on  the  verge  of 
starvation.  In  pUuos  we  could  not  get  food  for  our  own 
men  And  famine  was  beginning  to  be  followed  by 
disease  and  death.  This  was  a  serious  obstacle  to 

our  work.  .  .  . 

\notber  serious  obstacle  was  the  use  of  opium,  whicft 
became  n»ore  prevalent  the  further  west  we  went  along 
the  m  Kok  range  towards  Mftang  Fang.   We  pres- 
entlv  reached  villages  where  the  poppy  was  cultivated, 
until,  in  the  last  village,  men,  women,  and  boys,  and 
sometimes  even  girls,  were  its  slaves.   Fevers  and  dys- 
entery prevail  during  the  rainy  season.    These  i)eople 
have  a  vorv  s.anty  i)harmacopaiia,  and  no  antidotes 
whatever  for  these  diseases.   Opium  in  some  form  is 
probably  their  surest  remedy,  if  any  persons  told  me 
that  they  began  bv  using  it  in  sickness.  As  sickness  re- 
curred the  habit  grew,  until  they  were  fast  bound  m 
its  chains.   These  facts  largely  determined  the  char- 
acter of  the  instruction  we  gave,  and  made  ouv  tour 
a  kind  of  anti  opium  crusade.   Encouraged  and  disap- 
pointed at  every  village,  I  was  still  tempted  on  by 
visions  of  capturing  some  large  village  that  would 
orovo  a  more  efifective  entering  wedge  for  tb-  tribe  than 
Cba  I'u  Kaw's  poor  little  hamlet.   The  six  weeks  so 
spent  were  at  the  time  the  most  novel  and  exciting,  as 
well  as  most  arduous,  of  all  my  missionary  experiences 
BO  far. 


AMONG  THE  MCs6  VILLAGES  347 


We  took  both  the  old  MuhA  men  as  aHsiHtonts,  and 
the  younger  ones  aa  carriers  for  onr  eqnipment.  Oar 

first  day's  journey  was  a  fair  sample  of  what  we  had 
to  do  continually.  In  many  places  it  would  be  a  mis- 
nomer to  speak  of  the  track  we  travelled  as  a  path. 
Wf  left  the  plain  in  the  morning,  and  it  was  half-past 
two  in  the  afternoon  when  we  readied  tlie  first  summit. 
It  was  tive  o'clock  when,  desperate  with  thirst,  we  came 
upon  a  iowing  brook.  There  was,  then,  still  another 
hard  climb  before  we  saw  our  long  looked-for  first  vil- 
lage ahead.  And,  in  general,  because  of  the  habit  these 
people  have  of  piuatiug  their  villages  upon  the  very 
highest  points  where  they  can  get  water,  the  joumqr 
frttm  one  of  these  villages  to  another  in  jdain  sight, 
and,  apparently,  but  a  short  distance  away,  would  take 
hours  of  the  hardest  travel.  Sometimes  we  would  walk 
weary  hours  through  rain,  or  through  bushes  as  wet  as 
rain,  to  visit  a  village;  only  to  .valk  back  again  after 
sitting  three  hours  in  wet  tlothef  trying  in  vain  to 
awaken  some  interest  in  old  or  young. 

One  of  the  most  interepting,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
one  of  the  saddest,  cases  we  m-'t  was  that  of  MQn 
Kamprai,  the  head  man  of  a  village  which  clearly  bore 
the  impress  of  his  character  in  the  intelligence  and  in- 
dustry of  its  inhabitants.  From  opium  he  had  kept 
entirely  aloof  until,  only  a  few  years  before  this  time, 
under  the  stress  of  a  severe  illness,  he  began  to  take  it. 
The  poor  man  now  realized  that  he  was  becoming  a 
wreck,  but  seemed  to  have  no  will-power  left  to  make 
the  effort  to  break  away  from  tlie  habit.  He  was  much 
interested,  however,  in  his  two  fellow-tribesmen  whom 
I  had  brought  as  my  assistants;  and  Cha  Waw's  ex- 
ample seemed  to  afford  him  a  faint  gleam  of  hoi»e.  If 
we  would  stop  a  week  and  teach  his  jteople,  and  would 


34S  AMOXd  THE  SIAMESK  AND  THE  LXO 

stand  by  to  aid  him,  he  would  try.  If  succetwful,  he 
would  surely  become  a  CbriBtlaii--and  then  hii  village 
would  be  the  one  we  had  been  hoping  for  to  free  itaelf 

from  the  tribal  bond,  and  become  Christian. 

The  experiment  was,  indeed,  pathetic.   Removing  all 
temptation,  he  began  with  a  desperate  determination 
to  succeed.   We  encouraged  him  with  human  sympathy 
and  the  hope  of  divine  aid.    We  pushed  as  far  an  we 
dared  the  use  of  a  tonic  which  Dr.  McKean  had  given 
me  for  iroch  cases;  and  it  aided  him  i)erceptibly.  He 
held  out  njanfully  for  several  days.    lUit,  at  last,  in  an 
evil  hour,  he  could  endure  the  torture  no  longer,  and 
before  we  knew  it,  he  had  resnmed  the  use  of  the  dmg. 
For  two  nights  he  had  not  slept.  In  his  own  ex 
pressive  language,  it  was  not  his  eyes,  but  bis  heart 
that  could  not  sleep.   Poor  man !  his  sufferings  must 
have  been  as  near  those  of  the  infernal  regions  as  it 
is  possible  to  experience  in  the  body.    And  then  his 
abs.)lute  wreck  of  mind,  and  the  contempt  he  felt  for 
himself  when  he  gave  up  the  struggle  as  hope- 
less! 

We  ^  iiared  no  labour  to  rea  b  the  homes  of  these 
people,  or  their  hearts.   We  tn.  J  to  become  Musfis  to 
the  Mtlsds  that  we  might  win  them.   Sometimes  we 
had  to  sleep  in  their  huts- -on  a  floor  raised  two  or 
three  feet  from  the  ground,  which  the  dogs  shared 
with  the  family,  while  the  pigs  and  goats  were  on 
the  ground  beneath.   In  the  centre  was  a  raised  fire- 
place on  which  the  native  teapot  always  boiled.  Sleep- 
ing-mats or  thin  bedding  lay  about  on  the  floor,  and 
on  this,  before  bedtime,  some  of  the  inmates  wonld  lie 
down  and  fall  asleep  even  while  listening  to  the  con- 
versation. -But  everywhere  the  tribal  bond  waa  too 
strong  to  be  broken. 


AMONV;  THE  Mf  s^  VILLAOEB  340 

By  this  time  the  rains  had  net  in.  The  trails— and 
tfc«  leechM  that  infested  them— were  getting  worse  and 
wowe.  Boon  the  tomnt-ttrctiba  woald  become  im- 
pa88al)ie.  We  n:iist  return  while  yet  we  could.  Oop 
•Jix  weeks'  wanderings  we  retrace<l  in  four  days  of 
conatant  tramping.  It  hai  been  a  hard  trip  for  all  of 
UR.  I  myself  bad  a  touch  of  ivrer.  It  aeeined  good 
on  reaching  our  camp  to  have  once  more  the  luxniy  of 
a  chair  and  a  table.  And  then  to  be  on  the  sadaw's 
back  traTelling  homewards,  and  to  meet  a  good  mail 
on  the  way!  My  three-score  and  fourth  birthday  waa 
spent  in  the  forest,  and  I  reached  home  safely 
on  the  18th  of  May,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  five 
moDtha. 


The  peninsola  of  Farther  India  is  largely  exempt 
from  the  terrible  scoarge  of  famine  which  has  become 
almost  chronic  in  Hindustan,  its  greater  neighbonr  on 
the  west.   There  the  population  is  so  numerous  that 
the  normal  production  of  food  is  just  sufficient  to  sup- 
ply its  needs.  Eron  a  local  or  a  partial  failure  of  the 
crops  must  produce  distress.   Siam,  on  the  contrary, 
is  happy  in  that  it  not  only  produces  an  abundant  sup 
ply  for  its  own  people,  but  is  a  granary  for  the  sur- 
rounding countries.  The  worst  that  has  ever  been  ex- 
perienced in  Lower  Riain  in  years  of  greatest  scarcity, 
has  been  the  necessity  of  checking  the  export  of  rice. 
The  annaa!  floods  there  cover  the  whole  country,  so 
that  a  general  failure  of  crops  is,  hnmanly  speaking, 
impossible. 

In  the  northern  states  the  land  is  higher;  and  con- 
siderable portions  of  it,  being  above  inundation,  are 
directly  dependent  upon  the  seasonal  and  local  rains. 
But  with  a  population  by  no  means  dense,  this  very 


350  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
diversity  of  the  cultivated  arras  is  a  soiirco  of  safety. 
A  season  of  heavy  rainfall  wiiich  drowns  the  lowland 
rice,  is  apt  to  prove  exceptionally  good  for  the  uplands. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  a  season  of  liffht  rainfall, 
which  cuts  short  the  upland  crop,  is  apt  to  be  a  good 
season  for  the  Hooded  areas.   And  in  considerable  sec- 
tions of  the  country  there  is  the  chance  that  a  second 
crop  in  the  same  season  may  make  Rood  the  loss  of  the 
first.    Tliere  is  a  further  security  also  in  the  fact  that, 
until  communication  with  the  coast  becomes  snch  as  to 
make  exportation  profitable,  the  excess  of  fruitful  years 
remains  unconsuined  in  the  country,  to  supi  'y  the  need 
of  loss  fruitful  ones.    It  thus  comes  about  that  scarcity 
amounting  to  a  real  famine  cannot  result  from  the 
failure  of  crops  in  any  single  year.    It  requires  two 
consecutive  failures  to  produce  extensive  suffering 
among  the  very  poor,  and  three  to  result  in  a  real 
famine. 

This  last,  however,  was  the  case  in  1892.    in  m.w 
there  was  a  light  crop  throughout  the  land,  with  less 
excess  than  usual  to  be  stored.   In  1891  the  crop  was 
lighter  still.   In  the  eastern  provinces,  particularly  in 
Lakawn  and  Pre,  there  was  very  little  rice  to  be  reaped. 
Famine  conditions  began  there  long  before  the  time 
for  harvest.   People  were  scattering  off  in  squads  or 
by  families  into  Chiengmai  and  the  northern  provinces, 
begging  .1  dailv  morsel.   They  were  poverty  stricken  as 
well  as  famishing.   The  distress  led  the  brethren  m 
Lakawn  to  make  an  appeal  to  friends  in  the  United 
States  for  a  famine  fund.   Quite  a  liberal  response, 
amounting  to  several  thousand  dollars,  was  made  to 
this  call,  largely  by  the  friends  of  the  L5o  mission. 
The  relief  was  almost  as  timely  for  the  missionaries 
as  it  was  for  the  famishing  people.  Otherwise  they 


AMONG  THE  MUSO  VILLAGES  351 


scarcely  could  have  lived  through  the  long  strain  on 
their  nerves  and  sympathies  caused  by  the  constant 
sight  of  sufferings  which  th^  could  not  even  in  part 
relieve. 

The  province  of  Chiengmai  could  have  met  its  own 
needs  until  the  new  crop  came  in,  had  it  not  been  for 

the  constant  draft  upon  its  reserves  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  Lakawn  and  Pr6.  But,  between  high  prices 
offered  and  pity  for  the  less  fortunate,  those  reserves 
were  steadily  drained  away,  uatil,  during  the  latter 
months  of  the  vear,  famine  was  upon  us  in  Chiengmai, 
too.  Bands  of  men  from  destitute  villages,  maddened 
by  hunger  and  unable  to  buy  food,  began  to  roam  about 
the  country  by  night,  or,  sometimes,  by  day,  and  seize 
rice  wherever  any  little  remnant  of  it  could  be  found. 
The  authorities  were  powerle.^8  to  restrain  them  or  to 
keep  order.  The  condition  of  the  more  destitute  prov- 
inces can  better  be  imagined  than  described. 

At  last  the  relief  committee  in  Lakawn  were  asked 
if  they  could  not  spare  us  a  small  portion  of  their 
fund,  for  it  seemed  that  their  condition  could  not  ie 
much  worse  than  ours.  A  letter  from  Dr.  W.  A.  Briggs 
brought  us  three  hundred  rupees,  but  with  the  follow- 
ing caveat — the  italics  are  his : 

"  Wherever  we  can  reach  the  absolutely  starving,  that  is 
a  place  to  invest.  We  do  not  pretend  to  relieve  all  the 
suffering.  Now,  if  the  need  in  Chiengmai,  or  in  the  dis- 
trict mentioned,  is  so  great  that  people  are  actually  dying 

from  s>tarvatiuii,  and  those  now  living  are  living  on  such 
stuff  as  the  sample  enclosed  (cocanut-husks,  leaves,  bark, 
etc.),  with  never  a  grain  of  rice,  then  I  would  advise 
you  to  form  a  Famine  Comn'ittee,  and  go  into  the  business 
as  we  have  done.  The  actual  starvation  must  be  attended  to, 
no  matter  wlo-r^-  it  if.  But  our  saddest  experience  is  within 
Pre.    Some  one  should  be  sent  there  at  once." 


352  AMONG  THK  SIAMESE  AND  TFIE  LAO 

The  scenes  reported  from  Pr^  were  harrowing.  I 
will  not  pain  the  reader  by  dwellinR  upon  them.  One 
happy  result  followed  the  efforts  uf  the  brethren  who 
went  to  the  relief  of  that  district.  While  administer- 
ing to  bodily  wants,  they  preached  the  Gospel,  making 
such  an  impression  that  there  was  i.  strong  demand 
for  a  permanent  station  there  -which  was  established 
the  next  year,  with  Dr.  and  Itivs.  Briggs  as  pioneer 
missionaries. 

It  should  be  stated  that,  toward  the  last,  the  Siamese 
government  sent  up  supplier  A  rice;  but,  because  of  the 
distance  and  the  difficulty  of  transportation,  not  much 
reached  the  sufiCering  people  in  time  to  help  them;  and 
much  was  lost  in  passing  through  the  hands  of  so  many 
ofBclalB. 


XXXI 


CHIENG  RUNG  AND  THE  SIPSAWNQ  PANNA 


T  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  mission  in  December, 


1892,  the  broad  field  of  Tai  peoples  north  of 


^  ^  the  frontier  of  Siam  was  discussed,  and  Rev. 
Robert  Irwin  and  myself  were  appointed  to  make  a 
tour  into  that  region  as  long  and  as  far  as  in  our 
judgment  might  bo  deemed  wise.  The  tour  occupied 
nearly  five  months — from  January  3d  to  May  25th, 
1893.  This  time  we  went  fairly  well  supplied  with  por- 
tions of  Scriptures  and  tracts,  and  a  good  outfit  of 
medicine.  Of  quinine  we  carried  a  hundred  ounces, 
and  returned  with  less  than  twenty-five  We  relied  on 
the  medicines  for  the  welcome  they  never  yet  had  failed 
to  win  for  us.  And  Mr.  Irwin  hnd  a  cornet  which  did 
excellent  service  throughout  the  tour.  For  riding  I 
had  my  big  sadaw  "  elephant,  and  Mr.  Irwin  bad  a 
pony ;  so  we  could  exchange  mounts  at  our  convenienct. 
I  pass  over  the  earlier  portion  of  our  route,  already 
so  often  described,  and  the  two  weeks  spent  among 
the  hill-tribes  visited  on  previous  trips. 

The  chief  object  of  our  trip  was  to  visit,  in  their  an- 
cient homes,  two  northern  tribes  of  the  Lao  rac* — the 
K6n  and  the  Ld — ^from  which  very  many  of  onr 
parishioners  in  the  southern  provinces  derived  their 
origin.  For,  under  conditions  which  lasted  very  nearly 
down  to  our  own  time,  there  was  almost  constant 
predatory  warfare  going  on  in  this  northern  conntry — 


861 


354  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

stronger  states  raiding  the  weaker,  and  sweeping  away 
th-  entire  population  of  the  districts  they  overran,  to 
plant  them  in  their  own  realms.   Thus  whole  villages, 
and  even  entire  districts,  in  the  LSo  provinces  of  Siam, 
are  peopled  by  the  descendants  of  such  colonies  of  cap- 
tiver  We  found  it  unadvisal>le  to  attempt  both  visits 
in  the  same  season,  and  the  Lfl  were  the  more  ac- 
cessible, living  on  the  nearer  slopes  of  the  Kdng 
valley.   We  went  up  on  the  west  of  the  river  along 
the  edge  of  the  r.ritish  territory,  now  known  as  the 
South  Shan  States,  and  beyond  it  into  Chinese  terri- 
tory, as  far  as  Chieng  Bong;  ^  then,  returning,  wo  made 
a  somewhat  wider  sweep  to  the  east  of  the  river, 
thrcngh  French  Indo  China;  finally  recrossing  the 
river  at  Chieng  Lap,  where  we  struck  once  more  our 

ontgoing  trail.  •  4^    <  „ 

After  leaving  Mftang  Lcn,  the  utmost  point  of  a 
former  trip,  we  travelled  awhile  by  a  fine  road  along 
the  summit  of  a  ridge  so  regular  as  to  seem  almost  like 
an  artificial  embankment,  and  affording  noble  views 
over  the  vallev.    At  Wieng  Mar,  a  recent  offshoot  of 
Mflang  Yawng,  we  spent  a  most  interesting  Saturday 
and  Sunday.   Here  the  Prince-Governor  sent  to  ask  if 
he    K.uld  not  put  up  a  sala  to  shelter  us  during  our 
sta>.    In  the  morning  we  preached  in  the  market^ 
place,  and  afterwards  I  distributed  medicine  and  talked 
with  the  people  till  noon,  when  I  had  to  flee  away  to 
rest  under  the  shade  of  a  big  tree  by  the  river.  The 
people  seemed  hungry  for  the  bread  of  life.   I  could 
not  supply  all  the  requests  made  for  copies  of  the 

Scriptures.  .  , 

Mftang  Yawng,  the  older  and  larger  city,  we  reached 

iThis  name  eppeart  on  some  maps  as  Chieng  Hung,  initial  r  In  the 
North  being  genei»lly  pronounced  as  ft.— Ed. 


CHIENG  RUNG  AND  SirSAWNG  PANNA  355 


on  Monday  forenoon,  after  a  two  hours'  ride.  An  of- 
ficer met  us  at  the  gate,  and  showed  us  to  the  saia. 
When  the  Chao  Mawm  heard  of  our  arrival,  he  sent 
for  us,  meeting  us  at  the  door.  We  had  a  very  inter- 
esting  interview,  but  he  was  not  inclined  to  talk  on 
the  subject  of  religion.  He  told  me  that  the  city  and 
district  had  been  entirely  depopulated  in  1809  by  a 
force  from  Chiengmai,  when  "  nothing  was  left  behind 
but  the  ground."  '  It  had  recovered  itself,  however, 
and  its  population  was  now  larger  than  that  of  Lam- 
pun.  With  Nan  Suwan  I  visited  the  market  and  the 
Court.  At  the  latter  place  I  learned  that  the  British 
Commissioner  would  arrive  the  next  day.  Knowing 
that  everything  would  be  in  confusion,  we  decided  to 
move  on  the  next  morning. 

From  this  point  on,  our  elephant  was  everywhere  an 
object  of  great  interest.  Sometimes  the  people  climbed 
trees  to  get  a  better  view  of  him.  A  long  day's  march 
broui^t  us  to  Mftang  Yu,  picturesquely  situated  on 
high  blufifs,  with  deep  gorges  running  down  to  the 
LQi.  Here  we  remained  only  overnight,  leaving  early 
the  next  morning  for  Mtlang  Lfli,  which  we  reached 
about  noon.  That  evening  we  had  a  large  attendance 
at  worship,  the  governor  and  oflicials  remaining  till 
after  eleven  o'clock.  The  original  population  of  both 
these  districts,  as  well  as  that  of  Mflang  Yawng,  are 
now  scattered  throughout  the  provinces  of  Chiengmai 
and  Lampiin. 

1  This  Incident  is  ft  striking  illustntion  of  the  methods  of  warfun 

la  those  diiys.  The  expedition  in  question  was  directed  against  th« 
Burmese,  who  liad  established  themselves  in  Muang  Yang  some 
sixty  miles  or  more  to  the  nortli-west.  On  its  way  it  passed  through 
Muiing  Yawng,  where  it  was  loyally  received.  But  being  defeated 
at  Muaug  Yiing,  it  fell  back  upon  Milaiig  Yawng,  and  there  gathered 
up  all  the  inhabitants  and  swept  them  off  to  Chiengmai  to  prevent 
ttt^  fallhig  into  the  haada  <rf  tiM  eaony!— Bd. 


856  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

Next  moraing  we  crossed  the  beautiful  stream  on  a 
raft,  while  our  el.  p'.ant  took  the  ford  r>«ring  the 
fcrenoon  we  came  ui.on  Captain  Dav.s  of  theCo^mte- 
Bioner's  staff,  who  had  been  Bent  to  make  a  detonr  by 
Mflanp  SiDR,  and  was  then  on  his  way  to  join  his  party. 
He  w.^  resting!  hy  the  roadside,  ill  with  fever,  and  was 
clad  to  get  from  me  some  ciuinine. 

The  following  day,  Saturday,  brought  us  to  mmg 
LQang,  the  largest  and  n.ost  important  place  in  the 
valley  and  the  southernmost  of  the  old  Sipsawng  Panna 
confederacy.   The  valley  population  is  wholly  Lfl. 
There  is  scarcely  a  Ng!u  (Western  Shan)  to  be  found 
east  of  the  Ken,-  Tung  watersi.ed.    Here  were  the  best 
roads  xve  had  seen  anywhere  in  Farther  India,  with 
a  real  arched  bridge  of  stone  across  the  stream  at 
the  entrance  to  the  city,    l^arlv  next  m.>rn.ng  we  we  e 
awakened  by  a  noi.v  crnw.l  about  our  tent,  anxious  to 
see  us.    It  was  the  great  market  day,  so,  iriBtead  ot 
attempting  a  regular  service  in  camp,  we  chose  the 
market  place.   There,  wbettier  reading  or  speaking,  we 
always  had  some  attentive  listeners. 

On  Monday  our  road  lay  for  many  miles  along  the 
summit  of  a  low  ridge  on  which  at  intervals  were 
fifteen  large  villages,  just  at  the  edge  of  the  long 
fertile  plain,  where  are  the  rice-fields  that  feed  the 
country.  I  never  saw  in  all  my  touring  anything  qu.  e 
to  equal  that  row  of  villages.  It  seemed  too  bad  to 
pass  through  so  many  without  even  stopping. 

On  the  fourth  day  from  Mftang  Lflang  we  reached 
Chieng  Rung,  the  limit  of  our  northward  journey,  its 
location  is  strikingly  beautiful,  on  a  high  steep  bluff 
overlooking  the  Kong  River,  which  sweeps  m  a 
majestic  curve  about  its  base.  It  is  m  f  we  tern- 
tory,  and  is  ruled  by  a  Chao  Fa  appoint.,    rom  Ynn- 


CH11:NU  Kl'NiJ  AM)  S11'«A\VNG  I'ANNA  357 


nan.  An  ofliccr  from  Vnnnan  was  tliore  iif  (ho  Uiiie 
collecting  tribute.  The  iutiuence  of  the  Kngli.sh  wu» 
already  felt  there.  Mdang  CM,  to  the  weHt,  bad 
rebelled  a<:ainst  the  Chao  Fa,  who  thcreujion  sent  out 
ua  expedition  which  capture*!  and  hr(iuv;lit  away  some 
three  hundred  families  of  the  inhabitants,  lint  Kng 
land  cannot  allow  border  warfare  to  go  on  along  her 
frontier.  An  I^nglish  oliicer  appeared  on  the  scene,  and 
the  thing  was  stopped. 

At  Chimg  Rnng  we  were  still  in  the  midst  of  an 
area  of  Lao  speaking  people — an  area  which  extended 
far  beyond  on  every  side.  1  jjave  a  i)ortion  of  Scrip- 
ture to  a  LQ  whose  home  was  ten  days'  journey  north- 
ward ;  and  others  to  men  from  as  far  to  the  east  and  to 
the  west. 

We  had  an  interview  with  the  Chao  Fa,  by  previous 
appoip^  nt  At  the  door  the  officer  suggested  that 
we  p\  onr  shoes.  We  replied  that  it  was  not  our 
custoi.  .1  wa.s  unnece.ssary.  He  looked  very  doubt 
ful,  but  said  no  more,  and  we  walked  in.  The  Chao 
FS  received  ns  courteously.  We  took  him  to  be  a  man 
of  no  great  strength  of  character,  about  forty  years  of 
age,  and  somewhat  weakened  by  the  use  of  opuim.  He 
asked  whether  we  had  not  some  antidote  to  enable  him 
to  stop  its  xae.  He  listened  attentively  to  our  state- 
ment of  the  object  of  our  coming,  and  said,  "You  are 
merit-makers,  and  that  is  a  good  work." 

When  we  called  at  the  court,  the  presiding  officer 
had  a  wise  suggestion  as  to  how  we  might  further  our 
purpose  and  establish  our  religion  in  the  place — a  sug- 
gestion evidently  not  originating  with  himself,  but 
from  a  bi^er  source.  "  The  favour  of  the  Chao  Pa," 
said  he,  "  will  be  necessary  and  all-sutHcieut.  I  see 
you  have  a  fine  elephant.   Just  make  a  present  of  him 


858  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LXO 

to  the  Chao  pa.   He  will  be  deliKhted,  aud  your  road 
will  be  all  smooth."   I  t,.ld  him  that  1  was  an  old  man, 
far  fn.m  home,  and  dependent  on  the  elephant.   Bo  I 
could  not  i.ai  t  with  him.  This  same  suggest  on  waa 
pressed  upon  us  several  times  afterwards,  by  the  In-i. 
est  officials,  and  quite  up  to  the  hnui  of  our  departure; 
though  its  form  was  modified  from  a  gift  to  a  sale,  l 
became  at  last  a  little  anxious  about  the  result,  and 
was  somewhat  relieved  when  we  actually  got  away 
Wi(lu»ut  1..SS  of  the  elephant. 

1  mav  mention  at  this  point  an  incident  of  this  trip 
which  never  came  to  my  knowledge  till  thirteen  jx>ars 
later,  showing  Iw.w  we  were  providentially  npared  from 
what  w.)uld  have  put  a  sudden  and  tragic  end  to  our 
tour  and  to  our  lives.   When  Dr.  8.  C.  ^^opV^J^n^ 
Dr  W.  C.  Dodd  were  in  Keng  Tung  in  March,  190.,  tht 
presiding  ..mor  of  the  Court  told  them  that  he  had 
met  Dr.  Metiiivary  and  Mr.  Irwin  on  their  way  to 
Chieng  Uung;  that  when  the  people  of  Chieng  Uung 
first  heard  that  some  foreigners  from  the  s..utlj  v  .f 
e.„  rnutr  to  their  capital,  they  planned  to  kill  and 
plunder  them.    But  when  they  saw  that  the  foreigners 
rode  elephants  and  were  accompanied  by  earners  they 
d,.ri(ksl  that  this  was  probably  the  advance  guard  of  a 
formidable  army,  which  it  might  not  be  well  to  at- 
tack.  And  then,  he  said,  the  kindness  of  the  mis 
sionaries  so  completely  won  their  hearts,  that  all 
thoufil.t  of  murder  and  plunder  was  given  up. 

Uur  return  wa.s  to  be  through  the  region  to  the 
east  of  the  M6  Kong.  Its  northern  cities  si.il  be 
longed  to  the  Sipsawng  ranna.  Hut  the  .-est  of  .t  was 
t.MTitorv  recently  ceded  by  Siam  t..  France.  Ihe  gov- 
erning race-the  people  of  the  plains-were  eveijr- 
whei-e  Tai,  speaking  the  L5o  language  and  using  the 


CUIENU  KUNO  AND  B1I'SA\VN<J  TANNA  3G9 


L;lo  litornturo.  On  i*H  mountain  ridRcs  dwelt  ntimer- 
ouH  bill  tribt'H,  cMpcciull^'  the  Kuniu  and  the  Lumet. 

The  route  we  were  to  take  croMWH  the  river  two  days' 
journey  south  of  (Miieng  Rung;  h(»  wc  had  at  first  to 
retrace  onr  Rteps.  We  left  I  lit"  city  on  Monday,  March 
13tb,  Hafe  from  unHeen  |dotH,  and  with  our  elephant. 
On  the  second  day,  after  leavioK  our  upward  road  to 
strike  across  to  the  rive  r,  we  entered  unexj»ectedly  a 
large  village,  where  we  u»et  with  a  reception  ludicrously 
hostile.  At  every  door  mea  were  standing;  with  guns  in 
their  hands.  We  were  surprised;  but,  supposing  that 
it  might  he  iiiuster  day  or  sonielhin>;  of  the  sort,  we 
passed  innocently  aiong,  without  challenge,  to  the 
Monastery,  where  we  dismounted  and  began  to  unload. 
Then  guns  were  laid  aside  and  the  liead  man  and  vil- 
lagers came  up  to  see  us  and  to  offer  assistance.  They 
bad  beard  that  foreigners  were  coming  with  elephants 
and  men,  whether  for  peace  or  wut-  no  one  knew.  So 
they  had  taken  the  precaution  to  he  ready.  When 
tbey  found  out  our  peaceful  errand,  they  were  ashamed. 
We  had  a  pleasant  visit  and  worship  with  them  that 
evening. 

The  next  stage  of  our  road  was  had.  In  some 
places  we  had  to  cut  our  way  through,  and  there  were 
difficult  passages  of  brook-beds  and  gorges.  We 
reached  the  river  at  Chieu^  Tla  in  a  pouring  rain,  and 
it  rained  again  at  night.  The  next  day  was  the 
Buddhist  sacred  day,  and  we  were  awakened  early  by 
the  crowd  of  merit-makers  and  worshippers — the 
women  and  girls,  as  usual,  in  their  head-dresses  and 
gay  colours,  and  all  anxious  to  see  the  elephant  and 
the  white  faces. 

It  was  10:30  that  morning  before  we  got 
away.  Ourselves,  our  men,  the  saddles  and  luggage, 


360  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

were  ti.iiinl  <»vcr  bv  Ibo  forry.  Nan  Suwan  alone 
faced  tbo  «U'fp  river  on  tbe  Badaw  to  guide  bim 
tbrougb.  At  ilie  Urst  i.lunge  all  of  the  elephant 
his  tnink,  and  half  ot  the  rider,  went  out  of  «iRht. 
Thence  <.n  tliev  wmt.  ik.w  np  and  n.  w  down,  till  they 
stniRKled  out  on  the  further  shore.  Hueh  an  effort  is 
very  exhausting  to  the  animal,  and  he  has  to  have  ft 
good  rest  and  breathing  spell  after  it. 

Mftang  Ham,  on  the  eastern  bank,  is  larger  than  its 
neighbour  on  the  west.    Its  governor  was  a  Ohao 
Mawm,  next  in  rank  to  the  Chao  Fft  of  Chieng  Rung, 
and  his  wife  was  the  Chan  Fas  sister.    I  had  a  long 
talk  on  religion  with  the  wife.    It  was  a  new  thought 
to  her  that  any  one  could  be  greater  than  the  Buddha, 
though  he  was  neither  Creator  nor  Saviour,  but  only  a 
man.    It  is  unnecessary  continually  to  state  what  was 
everywhere  the  case  throughout  this  trip;  namely,  that 
we  iiad  go.»d  audiences  and  interested  hearer*  We 
left  in  every  place  some  books  in  the  bi;nds  of  thoae 
most  likely  to  nse  them;  though  we  could  have  used 
to  advantage  many  more,  if  we  had  had  them. 

From  Mfiang  Ham  two  days'  march  brought  us  on  a 
Saturday  to  MOang  N'nn,  the  most  important  city  on 
our  route,  and,  therefore,  a  most  desirable  place  to 
spend  Sunday.  Tbe  city  is  in  the  valley  of  the  Nam 
Ban.  It  bos  well  paved  streets,  and  a  very  large 
monastery  ..n  an  eminence  above,  where  we  camped. 
The  abbot  gave  us  a  hearty  welcome,  and  did  all  he 
could  to  make  us  comfortable.  At  our  night  worship 
the  monks  and  other  visitors  were  very  attentive. 

On  Sunday  morning  we  called  on  the  head  officer  of 
the  Court,  and  had  a  pleasant  conversation  with  him, 
for  he  was  both  intelligent  and  inquisitive.  Just  as  we 
were  ready  for  our  own  morning  worship,  the  t'hao 


CHIENQ  RUNG  AND  RIPSAWNO  PANNA  361 


Muwui,  a  relative  of  the  Cbau  Fa  ft>r  Cliieng  Rung, 
M»t  to  aak  XM  to  call.  We  lent  word  in  reply  that  it 

was  our  hour  f<ir  wnrsbip,  and  asked  wlicllifp  lie  wixild, 
perhupH,  like  tu  lia\e  um  wornbip  iu  hi.s  i^'sidence.  Uis 
aii8v.-er  wu8  a  curdiul  invitation  to  come  aud  do  so. 

The  Prince  was  young  and  very  pleasant.  He  had  a 
HpnciouH  lidUHo,  and  noon  ho  bad  it  filled  with  bin 
own  family,  biH  otlicerH,  aud  hia  people.  Mr.  Irwin, 
as  Qinal,  had  his  comet.  We  find  that  singing  our 
Gospel  bymnfi,  with  a  Nhort  exiilanatinu  nf  their  cen- 
tral truths,  is  a  better  way  to  hold  a  mixed  crowd 
where  women  and  children  lorm  a  goodly  proportion, 
than  is  a  regular  serrice.  NOn  Snwan's  Lt  dialect 
served  a  very  good  turn.  We  had  a  very  interesting 
morning,  and  we  were  cordially  invited  to  hold  a 
similar  meeting  at  night,  when  many  who  had  been 
absent  in  the  morning  might  attend. 

At  night  the  house  was  crowded  with  a  remarkable 
gathering,  for  one  could  hardly  call  it  a  congregation. 
The  invitation,  the  place,  the  attendant  circumst&nces, 
were  all  unique.  We  sang  and  pravru  j'tid  preached 
with  as  little  restraint  as  if  we  bad  been  iu  our  own 
church  in  Cbiengmai.  The  part  of  the  serv  which 
most  impressed  them  was  Nfin  Snwan's  prayer — a  di- 
rect appeal  to  a  Person  unseen,  whom  be  addressed  as 
Father,  Redeemer,  Saviour,  and  Friend.  Seldom  have 
I  felt  so  strongly  for  any  as  for  these,  that  they  were  as 
sheep  needing  a  shepherd:  hungry  souls  asking  for 
bread,  and  getting  that  which  satisfied  not.  lOthical 
teacbiitg  they  bad  in  abundance,  but  no  Divine  Voice 
asking,  "  Wilt  thou  be  made  whole?  "  or  saying,  "  Thy 
Bins  be  forgiven  thee.   Arise  and  walk!" 

Next  morning  we  made  our  formal  call  upon  the 
Prince;  but  be  sent  to  our  camp  for  our  books  and 


/ 


m 

[cfl 


862  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

the  comet,  and  soon  we  had  another  eongit-ation,  and 
were  having  worship  again.    In  the  afternoon  the 
Prince  made  us  a  long  call.   Then  there  was  a  con- 
tinuous stream  of  visitors,  mostly  for  medicine,  and  I 
vaccinated  a  number  of  i-eisous.    Tho  mn  of  the  ch.ef 
officer  of  the  Court,  a  tine  young  man,  was  almost  ready 
to  come  with  us  to  Chiengmai  to  study  our  religion 
further.   His  father,  too,  was  willing  tliat  he  should 
come.   The  voung  man  la-ouiised  that  he  surely  would 
do  so  next  vear,  if  we  eame  again.    And  now,  seventeen 
years  after  these  events,  it  saddens  me  to  think  no  mis- 
sionary has  ever  been  there  since.    An  oecui.an.y, 
then,  of  those  oi>en  S  psawng  I'anna  States  would  have 
turned  the  Uauk  of  Fi'emh  obstruction,  and  have  en- 
sured an  entrance  from  the  north. 

Early  on  Tuesday  n.orning  we  left  Mrtang  Nun,  after 
•i  visit  all  too  short.    The  Prince,  with  his  ollicers  and 
a  large  crowd  of  peoi.le,  were  on  hand  to  bid  us  good- 
bye   That  day  we  found  our  track  very  much  ob- 
.Jructed  by  the  jungle  gn.wth,  and  had  some  d.thculty 
in  cutting  our  way  through.    Another  complication 
presently  arose  in  the  illness  of  my  associate,  Mr. 
Irwin.    An  attack  of  iudigestiou  developed  m'xt  .lay 
into  sy.npt..m«  of  dysentery,  which  made  further  travel 
for  the  time  impossible.   So  we  were  laid  up  until  the 
following  Tuesday  at  Mftang  Wto-aud  anxi..us  nights 
and  days  they  wore.    Milder  measures  failing,  we  had 
to  lesoVt  at  last  to  a  most  heroic  treatment  which  1 
had  seen  usetl  in  the  hospital,  namely,  large  doses  of 
ipecac.    By  this  means  the  disease  was  got  under  c.m- 
trol-  and  by  care  and  dieting  Mr.  Irwin  was  able  at 
U'ugth  to  continue  his  journey  on  my  elephant,  though 
throughout  the  rest  of  our  tour  he  was  far  from  being 
well. 


CUIENG  RUNG  AND  SIPSAWNG  PANNA  3C3 


At  Mfiang  Pong,  one  of  tlio  three  largest  cities  on  the 
route,  we  again  stopped  over  fr  u,  Thursday  night  till 
Tuesday.  Here  I  had  an  a.  a  i-ohiil  on  th-^  night  of  onr 
arrival,  but,  with  free  use  f  quinine  md  a  little  rest, 
I  escaped  further  attack.  .e  a  great  deal  of 
fever  in  the  place,  and  I  spoui  .navL  lime  in  minister- 
ing to  the  sick. 

On  Saturday  I  called  upon  the  Prince  and  his  chief 
officer.  I  was  told  that  the  city  furuished  Uve  hundred 
men  for  the  Chao  Fa's  expedition,  and  'lad  seventy 
villages  within  its  jurisdiction.  In  former  times  it 
had  been  raided  by  au  expedition  from  Nan.  and  some 
of  the  Nan  villages  to  this  day  are  jjeopled  by  descend- 
ants of  those  captives. 

On  Monday  the  Pi  ince  and  his  chief  officer  made  us 
long  calls.  The  I'rince  had  never  seen  a  repeating 
rifle,  and  seemed  incredulous  that  it  could  tire  twelve 
shots  in  unbrolcen  succession,  till  I  fired  three  by  way 
of  demonstration.  Tlis  look  of  surprise  was  ludicrous. 
He  must  have  the  gun,  he  said,  to  protect  his  coun- 
try, and  began  bidding  for  it.  At  last  he  offered  a 
fine  riding  pony,  which  I  accepted.  He  was  delighted, 
saying  that  we  two  should  always  be  brothers.  If  I 
should  never  come  again  myself,  he  would  welcome  and 
aid  our  assistants.  Four  years  later  I  did  visit  the 
place,  but  the  Prince  had  beeu  killed. 

On  Tuesday  we  reached  Miiang  Mung,  which  proved 
to  be  one  of  our  most  hopeful  places.  ^Sitting  in  front 
of  our  tent,  with  the  whole  village  about  us,  we  talked 
till  midnight.  I  had  a  sore  throat,  but  our  assistants 
were  inspired  with  enthusiasm.  At  last  we  almost 
had  to  drive  the  crowd  away. 

Mfkang  Sing  was  the  objective  <  f  this  portion  of  onr 
tour.   I  first  became  interested  in  it  when  it  was  about 


364  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
to  be  occupied  as  a  dependency  of  the  province  of  Nan. 
Mr.  Phraner  and  I  made  an  attcn.i.t  to  i-each  it  in  18yi, 
but  were  turned  back.   Then,  again,  it  seemed  about 
to  fall  into  lUitish  hands,  under  some  old  claim  by 
Burma.   Even  at  the  time  we  were  there,  its  status  was 
still  uncertain.    It  fiave  evidence  of  having  once  been 
a  large  city,  and  still  had  a  very  large  territory  under 
its  jurisdiction.   Its  earlier  importance  was  retlecUd 
in  the  title  borne  by  its  ruler.  (Mu...  Ffi -Lord  o  .he 
Sky_a  title  borne  by  no  other  LCi  ruler  ««»tbof 
ChLg  Rung.   My  intex^st  in  ^flang  Sing  had  been 
deepened  by  acquaintance  with  a  pat.ent  in  the  Ch>e  g- 
mai  hospital,  of  whose  case  Dr.  McKean  has  kindly 
furnished  the  following  account : 

"  This  Pravu  Siiifrhanat,  a  prominent  man  in  the  local 
goverun>ent.  had  been  for  years  a  great  sufferer  i^cm^^^^l 
calculus  and  had  tried  all  kinds  uf  -.nnedu.  w^t^out  avad 
Fearing  his  disease  had  been       asioned  by  offenduig  the 
.pTr  s  in  the  building  of  a  new  hous..  he  tore  the  house 
low       This  pave  him  uo  relief.    Although  he  had  spent 
t^^in  the  nLast.ry.  and  had  taken  all  the  ^^/J^ 
order,  he  concluded  to  re-enter  it  ni  the  hope  of  being  cui^ 
uf  hi;  umlady,  spending  again       -oaths  u.  tlu-  .nonaste^. 
A  travelliu^  merchant  who  had  himself  been  eur  .]  of  cal 
cuius  by  au  operation  in  the  n.ission  hospital  in  ^hiengmai. 
advTsed  the  Praya  to  ,o  there  for  relief    This  he  determined 
to  do.  not  without  Kn-t  <,p,n.ition  trou>  the  ^'"^ 
f,.,n.  his  own  fannly.    But  he  was  determmed.    Lie  sold  h  s 
possessions,  and  started  with  800  rupees.    His  J^^^f^^J! 
oug  and  painful.    For  weeks  or  eve.i  months  at  a  time  be 
could  not  travel  on  account  of  great  pan.    Once  he  was 
beset  by  daeoits  at  night.    A  part  of  h.^  money  and  all  lus 
'"u!         stolen.   When  he  finally  reached  Chiengmai  twehe 
months  after  leaving  home,  he  was  penude«s,  and  of  course 
Btill  suffering  intensely.    He  was  reeeued  mto  the  rm.M,  n 
ho^p.tal  and  was  wholly  relieved  by  an  operat.ou.    A  more 
grateful  patient  one  rarely  sees.    He  regularly  attended 


CHIENG  RUNG  AND  SIPSAWNG  PANNA  365 


Rorvico  at  the  hospital  and  evinced  great  interrat  in 

Christianity." 

When  we  reached  Mftang  Sinj;,,  we  were  disappointed 
to  find  that  the  I'raya  was  away.  But  he  had  loudly 
sung  the  praises  of  the  mission  hospital,  and  that  was  a 
good  introduction  for  us.  The  chief  oflBcer  of  the  Court 
was  a  friend  of  liis,  and  lie  proved  to  he  a  friend  to  us, 
too.  Hearing  tliat  we  were  come,  the  Chao  Fa  sent 
fop  us,  and  turned  out  to  be  a  relative  of  the  great 
Chao  Fa  of  Chieng  Rung.  Though  not  of  a  nature  so 
deeply  religious  as  some,  he  was  interested  in  religion ; 
and  our  reply  to  his  lirst  question  as  to  the  object  of 
our  visit,  immediately  introduced  the  subject. 

At  first  he  was  inclined  io  cavil,  asking  such  ques- 
tions as,  whether  Jesus  could  rise  in  the  air  as  Buddha 
did,  and  the  like.  But  this  was  evidently  to  "save 
his  face before  his  oflicers.  For  a  while  he  main- 
tained thiit  the  universe  is  self-existent,  having  come 
into  being  by  the  concurr?nce  of  the  matter  which  com- 
poses it.  But  presently  he  confessed  that  it  is  too 
complicated  for  that,  and  plainly  shows  design — that 
is,  a  mind  or  Mind.  At  last  he  asked  what  argument 
made  us  foreigners  so  certain  of  our  view  that  we 
should  come  to  ask  them  to  change  their  religion  for 
ours.  We  told  him  that  Jesus  Christ  Himself  was  the 
ali-sullicient  argument.  No  matter  how  the  world 
came  into  existence,  we  are  here,  and  we  all  know  that 
we  are  sinners.  The  Bud  lha  confessed  himself  to  be 
only  a  man,  and  himself  seeking  a  refuge  like  the  n  st 
of  us.  Jesus  Christ  claimed  to  have  come  down  from 
heaven,  and  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  He  challenged  the 
world  to  convince  Him  of  sin.  Those  who  knew  Him  in- 
timately saw  something  in  Him  not  only  different  and 


AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 
superior,  but  of  a  diflerent  kind.  TT.'  showed  this  not 
only  bv  His  spotless  life,  but  by  the  uiirat  .-s  that  He 
wrought.  He  claims  to  have  power  to  forgive  Bins. 
And  thousands  and  millions  who  have  accepted  H.m 
believe  that  He  has  for^Mvcn  tlu-.n;  an.l  show  that  fact 
bv  becoming  better  men.  We  talked  thus  an  hour 
and  a  half.    He  evi.ieullv  felt  the  force  of  the  argu- 

Sunday  was  the  fifth  day  market  ..r  fair- the  largest 
and  f\no;t  we  had  seen  in  the  north.  The  hill-tnbes,  as 
usual,  were  out  in  full  force.  I  was  still  suffering  with 
sore  thrc  It,  but  Mr.  Irwin  and  the  assistants  had  a  fine 
morning's  work,  and  in  the  afternoon  had  a  fair  at- 
tendance at  the  regular  service. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  of  our  stay  was 
the  night  service,  held  in  the  residence  of  the  Chao  Fa 
at  his  express  re.iuest  on  the  evening  before  our  de- 
parture   The  audience  was  mainly  his  own  family 
and  dependents,  and  the  Trince  was  more  free  than 
hefore.    Duriag  the  singing  he  asked  that  the  cornet  be 
stor.iK.Hl  in  order  that  he  might  hear  the  words  more 
plainly.   When  NSn  Snwan  led  in  prayer,  he  wished  to 
know \t  we  always  prayed  in  that  way.   There  was  the 
usual  sad  refrain-no  hope  of  pardon,  bondage  to  the 
spirits,  the  drawing  to  a  better  way,  but  so  strong  a 
counter-current!  Yet  who  can  tell  how  many,  alter 
all,  the  truth  may  have  reached?  .,  .„xfc 

We  loft  Mfiang  Sing  t>u  Wednesday,  April  IZtn. 
There  is  no  need  to  weary  the  reader  with  details  of 
the  ten  days'  travel  before  we  reached  Chieng  Sto, 
or  with  the  varied  incidents  of  our  work. 

At  Chieng  Sen  we  received  letter^  that  were  disap- 
pointing to  my  plans.  The  mission  had  unanimously 
decided  that,  partly  for  considerations  of  our  healthy 


CUiEXU  RUNG  AND  SIPSAWNG  PANNA  367 

and  partly  for  reasons  of  mission  polity,  Mrs.  McGil- 
vary  and  I  should  take  our  furlough  at  once.   We  had 

been  ten  and  a  half  years  on  duty  in  the  field.  My 
wife  was  not  really  sick,  but  was  not  well,  and  the  doc- 
tor advised  her  going.  I  was  very  anxious  to  repeat 
the  same  tour  the  next  year,  in  spite  of  the  few  malarial 
chills  1  had  encountered  Ibis  time.  I'.iit  iurnn}i:ements 
had  been  completed,  and  there  was  no  option  but  to 
submit. 

My  companion  on  Ibis  tour  was  far  frotn  well,  and 
it  was  important  that  he  should  hasten  home  at  once. 
What  with  daily  rains,  bad  roads,  and  swollen  streams, 
Mr.  Irwin  had  a  hard  trip  of  it  alone  the  rest  of  the 
way;  and  it  was  some  little  time  l»efoie  he  was  well 
again.  For  my  return  there  was  no  such  need  of  haste. 
The  work  among  the  Mtlsd  had  been  left,  upon  the 
whole,  in  hopeful  condition.  The  power  of  the  tribal 
bond,  which  almost  annihilated  individual  responsibil- 
ity, had  been  somewhat  weakened.  Many  head  men 
had  promised  to  enrol  themselves  as  Christians  this 
season.  It  was  certain  that  no  tour  among  them  could 
be  made  the  coming  year.    I  must  visit  them  now. 

The  experiences  of  this  visit  were  entirely  like  thos« 
of  the  previous  ones — everywhere  the  same  w^arm  wel- 
come, interesting  night  meetings,  earnest  consultations, 
and  ministering  to  the  sick;  days  spent  in  wading 
brooks,  climbing  mountain  ridges,  plunging  down 
ravines,  to  get  from  one  village  to  another,  where  the 
same  round  would  be  repeated.  They  would  all  be- 
come Christians  if  only  another  officer  or  two  would 
join  them.  Thus  it  went  on  till  we  had  visited  nearly 
all  of  the  eleven  villages,  and  were  back  at  POn  Chai  t 
and  S^n  Bun  Yiiang's,  where  we  began.  These  people 
were  nearer  to  Nan  Suwau's  Christian  village,  had 


368  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TllK  LAO 
known  more  of  our  religion,  and,  n..  doubt  were  be- 
U^vers  in  tl.o  UniU  of  our  t..a.hing.    We  talked  w.th 
them  till  late  at  uight,  aud  ..nr  parting  with  them  had  a 
traKic  interest.   They  were  apparently  on  tbe  uigi 
of  accepting  the  (Josik^I.    Wo  used  <.ur  utu.ost  en^ 
deavours  to  persuade  them  to  join  Cha  I'u  Raw  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  and  not  wait  for  the  other 
who  might  come  in  afterwards.    Th.s  was  probabl> 
last  visit;  but  if  any  sutTinent  nuudn^r  would  jo.n  the 
church,  the  iuission  would  not  desert  them.  " 
all  probability  the  offer  would  never  be  pressed  upon 

proved  to  be.  About  half  of  the  vm^es 
wei.  under  Ihe  governor  of  Chieng  S^n.  The  mha^ 
itants  of  these  were  assured  of  their  safety  in  t^k  ng  t  e 
decisive  step,  so  far  as  the  rulers  were  .oneern.Hl.  But 
'"le  of  the'larger  villages  were  under  the  go..rnor  of 
Maang  Len.  His  opposition  was  a  foregony  onclu 
Bion  because  of  his  interest  in  the  opunu  l.atht.  My 
^n^io  gain  a  U.-ge  entrance  an.oug  ^1^-  ...  one 
of  the  greatest  disapp.nutn.ents  in  u.y  whole  ^orfe. 

That  I  was  not  mistaken  in  the  hopefulness  of  the 
work  among  the  Musos  has  since  been  ^^---^^^^^^f 
the  many  thousand  converts  won  among  the  same  tnbe 
by  our  Baptist  breth,-en  in  the  Keiig  Tung  region.  At 
tL  same  time  they  are  better  prepared  for  such  a  .^rk 
than  were  we.  Their  wide  experience  an^ong  the  Karens 
of  Burma,  and  the  large  number  of  f  "'^f  Ka^/^^^ 
through  whom  they  work,  give  them  advantages  m  this 
partkular  work  which  our  mission  does  no  possess. 

the  other  hand,  it  is  sure.y  to  be  -g-tted  th^  ou^ 
amission  sfiuuld  be  limited  in  its  ac^ss  to  all  br^ches 
alike  of  the  Tai  population  found  m  the  northern 
^tLtL,  for  which,  bridentity  of  race  and  language  and 


CHIHNiJ  1M'N<1  AND  KirSAWNC  PANNA  309 


literature,  we  are  far  lieUer  jtrepared  than  our  Baptist 
brethren.  For  while,  to  use  a  legal  phrase,  the  mis- 
sionary holds  a  brief  for  no  one  particular  tribe;  whilo 
Lis  roniniission  and  his  duty  is  to  preaih  the  (iospel 
to  all  whom  he  can  n  :u'h ;  yet  it  is  a  well  recognized 
fact  that  the  Tai  family  has  largely  fallen  to  oar  mis- 
sion. And  it  will  be  seen  from  what  we  have  said 
above,  that  we  relurned  from  this  trip  with  enlarged 
views  and  bright  prospects  of  opening  up  work  among 
our  own  Tai  people  in  the  nortii.  It  will  fake  years 
of  hard  work  and  a  useless  expenditure  of  time  and 
money  for  any  other  missionary  organization  to  reach 
the  point  at  which  we  were  ready  to  begin  work  among 
these  people.  Hut  this  is  a  complicated  question,  the 
tangled  web  of  which  it  is  not  possible  for  any  one 
man  to  unravel. 


XXXII 

THIRD  FURLOUGH-STATION  AT  CHIENG  RAI 

ON  my  return  to  Chioimniai  1  found  preparations 
well  advanced  for  our  departure  on  furlough. 
En.barkin}:  on  June  7th,  we  reached  Han^kok 
on  June  22d,  and  ^*an  Francis<  o  on  AuRust  h  |S 
Of  the  events  of  that  memorable  year,  I  shall  touch 
uDon  only  two  or  three.  . ,    .  <■ 

Sr.  J.  H.  Barrow«,  the  originator  and  President  o 
the  Parliament  ..f  Religions,  had  invited  me  to  attend 
:,nd  narti.ipa.e  in  its  meetings.    After,  perhaps  a 
it  le  sho..k  Lt  the  boldnes.  of  the  idea-a«  if  Chr^tian- 
ity  were  to  be  put  on  a  par  with  other  rol,gH>ns-I 
s;mpathi..Ml  with  the  object  as  legitimate  and  proper. 
I  t  was  merely  doing  on  a  large  scale  what  we  mission, 
aries  are  called  upon  to  do  on  a  smaller  scale  every 
time  that  we  hold  an  argument  with  ^^^^^J 
other  non  Christian  people.    The  fa.rness  of  the  dea^ 
and  even  its  very  boldness,  might  do  good;  and  I  be- 

lieve  thev  did.  j  *  „ 

On  tl,;  Sunday  before  the  o,^ning  1  ^'^^ened  to  a 
reallv  great  sernum  by  Dr.  Harrows  on  "  ^brist  he 
Light  of  the  World."  I  attended  every  session  ..f  the 
Parliament,  save  at  the  hour  from  1 1  a.m.  tn  2,  when  I 
nsually  went  <.vcr  to  the  Moody  meet.n^s  to  hear  John 
McNeill,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  preach  his 
trenchant  sermons. 
If  any  one  went  to  the  Parliament-as  possibly  some 


370 


STATION  AT  (:nii:Nr,  kai 


371 


did— hoping  to  hear  Christianity  demolished,  he  cer- 
taiuly  WEB  disappointed.  But  there  was  one  criticirai 
which  occurred  to  me.  Whatever  may  have  been 

thought  of  the  wisdom  of  the  original  conception  and 
inauguration  of  the  Parliament,  the  Protestant 
churches  might  have  made  a  much  more  imposing  front, 
if  the  ablest  men  of  tue  diftv  mit  (Icnominations  had 
not  stood  aloof,  either  indififerent  or  hostile  to  it.  It 
was  surely  the  opportunity  of  a  lifetime  for  many,  who 
could  not  hope  otherwise  ever  to  address  iKjrsonally 
the  votaries  -jf  non-rhristian  religions,  to  bring  for- 
ward their  strong  reasons  to  bear  on  so  many  of  the 
most  intelligent  and  presumably  the  most  earnest  seek- 
ers after  the  truth. 

While  attending  those  meetings  in  Chicago,  I  re- 
ceived news  tiiat  our  son,  the  Kev.  Evander  B.  McGil- 
vary,  had  felt  himself  constrained  to  resign  from  the 
Lao  mission.  No  good  can  come  from  now  reviewing 
the  issues  wiiidi  led  to  this  step;  and  it  is  needless  to 
say  how  bitter  was  the  disappointment  to  his  par- 
ents, who  had  looked  forward  to  his  carrying  on  their 
work,  and  to  him,  who  had  specially  prepared  himself 
for  that  work,  and  for  no  other.  But  I  must  say  that 
bitter  as  was  the  disai  ;  ointment,  I  sympathized  with 
his  position,  and  respected  his  motives. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  the  fol- 
lowing May,  to  which  I  was  a  delegate,  liie  one  all- 
engrossing  business  was  the  trial  of  the  Rev.  Henry  P. 
Smith,  D.D.,  for  heresy  on  the  question  of  the  "  Iligher 
Criticism."  Viewing  the  matter  from  this  distance, 
and  entirely  apart  from  the  merits  of  this  particular 
case,  I  doubt  whether  critical  and  scientific  questions 
are  proper  subjects  for  trials  before  such  a  body.  If 
tried  at  all,  such  questions  should  be  tried  by  a  com- 


372  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

mission  of  experts.  Biblical  oriticisin  :in«l  science  will 
go  on,  and  the  (luostionH  involved  will  lie  decided  ac- 
cording to  tUeir  own  lines  of  evidence,  quite 
respective  of  the  decrees  of  Poikjk,  Councils,  and  Gen- 
eral Assemblies.  I  :nn  nnuli  mistiiken  if  Ihe  good 
sense  and  temper  of  the  cliuich  would  now  sanction 
heresy  trials  on  such  questions. 

( »ne  (lay  some  fifteen  years  earlier  than  the  point  we 
have  now  reached  in  our  narrative,  a  letter  came  to 
our  mission  from  a  Mr.  Robert  Arthington  of  Leeds, 
England.    The  leder,  iii<('  all  his  suhse«iuent  ones,  was 
on  small  sl>oets  of  notei.ai)er,  written  over  once,  and 
then  written  again  crosswise,  so  as  to  be  almost  il- 
legible.  The  writer  had  s(.m.  \vii(  iv  learned  of  the 
journey  of  a  Fro      explorer  wii...  from  the  upper  Me 
Kong  and  the  Uc.^waters  of  the  Me  U,  had  crossed 
to  the  China  Sea  through  the  region  now  known  as 
Tonking.   The  traveller  had  passed  through  certain 
tribes  possoss.-d  of  a  written  language  and  supposed 
to  be  of  Aryan  stock.    Hy  some  means  Mr.  Arthington 
had  heard  of  our  mi  -   jn,  and  wrote  to  en.iuire  whether 
some  of  us  could  n.n  visit  those  tribes  and  .listnhute 
among  them  "  the  Gospels  of  John  and  of  Luke,  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  particularly  "  telling  them  that 
the  Acts  followed  Luke,  and  uns  htf  m  same  author." 

Wo  had  not  the  slightest  idea  who  the  writer  was; 
but  the  devout  spirit  of  the  letter  was  charming,  and 
such  interest  in  obscure  tribes  along  the  northern 
border  of  our  field  was  most  surprising.  His  strong 
desire  to  send  the  Gosi)el  message  to  "  the  regions  be- 
yond "  appealed  to  me.  He  api)eared  to  be  a  man  of 
means,  for  he  offered  to  bear  the  expense  of  circulating 
those  three  books.   At  the  same  time  he  was  evidently 


STATION  AT  OIlIENd  KAI 


373 


gomewhat  pm-ntric  and  impracti«al  iu  his  ideas.  Ue 
geemed  not  lo  lia.e  lliought  that  ♦  circulate  books 
among  newly  discovered  tribes  would  require— »incp 
the  (('ssiition  uf  (lie  {jift  <»f  t<mf?neH— noqni8iti«>n  of 
their  lauguat'es.  traiiMlatitm,  priuting  iiresses,  etc.,  etc. 
But  the  ease,  at  all  events,  memed  worth  following  up. 

I  acknowledged  tin-  ivceipt  of  hia  h'ttfi-,  pointing 
out  tlic  ottstiicics  wliiih  he  seemed  to  overlook,  direct- 
ing his  attention  to  our  own  mission  as  occupying  a 
new  and  Interesting  field,  with  many  hill-tribes  on  our 
own  bonlt-r  whirli  \\\>  hoiwMl  to  ivacli.  I  invited  his 
co6i)eratiou,  stating  that  as  soon  as  we  were  properly 
enforced,  we  intended  to  go  as  far  north  as  we  could. 

Almost  to  my  surprise,  Mr.  Arthington  replied  im- 
mediately, expressing  his  interest  in  our  work,  but  still 
reverting  to  his  scheme  for  evangelizing  tlie  "  tribes  of 
Aryan  stock"  found  by  his  French  traveller.  That 
was.  (jf  course,  impossible  for  us  to  undertake,  though 
I  did  i)rop()se  to  Dr.  Cushing  of  the  American  Baptist 
Mission  iu  Burma  to  join  me  in  a  tour  through  that 
region  at  Mr.  Arthington's  expense.   This  plan  had 
attractions  for  us  both;  but  Pr.  (bushing's  college  work 
made  it  impossible.   Still,  we  might  be  able  to  make 
some  compromise  with  our  unknown  correspondent, 
go,  for  .,ome  years,  I  kept  up  an  occasional  correspond 
ence  with  Mr.  Arthington,  just  sufficient  to  keep  us  in 
touch  with  each  other.   He  always  replied  immediately 
to  my  letters,  breathing  the  same  deep  interest  in  mis 
sions,  and  especially  in  the  tribes  hitherto  unreached 
by  the  (Jospel.   Touring  within  my  own  appointed  field 
engrossed  the  whole  of  my  available  time;  but  since 
that  field  was  already  in  part  suppUed,  it  did  not  spe- 
cially api»eal  to  him. 
After  the  tour,  longer  than  usual,  taken  with  my 


374  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  TUE  LAO 
daughter  in  1890,  I  »ent  him  a  report  of  it    In  re- 
Hpons..  1.0  sent  me  thirty  i.oundH,  which  aided  m  the 
work  of  ISUl  among  the  Mflso.   The  tour  taken  with 
Mr  Phraner  in  1892  wag  nearer  to  his  idea  ;  and  the 
one  talcen  with  Mr.  Irwin  in  IS!.:?  int.-n..Oy  interested 
l.i.n  -  but  ehietiv  iK-oaUHe  it  s.-.  nied  to  be  a  stepping 
stone  toward  i-eaehing  his  "  A.  van  tribes"  beyond.  He 
thoronghly  approved  of  that  tour;  expressed  his  re- 
gret that  w."  .....1.1  not  ...eet  in  o.'der  to  come  to  a 
Hearer  understanding  about  the  geography  of  the 
^.gi„„_siuce  all  onr  maps  were  defective;  and  aug- 
aegted,  "  I  should  like  your  dau^'hter  t..  {,'..  w.th  vou 
on  vour  next  trip,  as  I  can  well  eun.-eive  he  idea  that 
she"  will  be  a  valuable  help."    Ue  was,  moreover,  »  par- 
tienlarly  interested  that  the  Cambodians  als..  should 
bav  the  r.ospels  of  L.ike  and  J.din,  and  the  Arts. 

Following  up  Mr.  Arthington's  suggestion  of  an  in- 
terview, 1  met  him  by  appointment  in  Liverpool  on  my 
return  from  the  United  States.  We  had  only  a  half 
hour  s  interview;  hut  he  th.nmht  that  sufficient  to  en- 
able us  to  understand  each  other's  plans.  On  reach- 
ing London  I  was  to  make  out  an  order  for  what  sum 
I  needed  f<.r  ...v  nex.  w..rk.  This  I  did,  askin-  f-.-  the 
modest  Bum  of  forty  pounds,  which  I  received  by  i-eturu 

^"■The  trans-M6  K6ng  tour,  however,  was  iiuvitably  de- 
laved  If  was  n..:  until  the  Ann.ial  Mcetinj?  -i  the  luis- 
si.ni  in  lSi)»;  that  Dr.  Peoples  and  1  were  appointed  to 
make  that  tour,  an  account  of  which  will  appear  later. 
To  complete,  however,  now  the  story  of  my  relat...ns 
with  Mr  Arthiu-ton.  I  'nay  say  that  lu  advance  of  the 
Ann..al  Meeting  just  red  t..,  I  wrote  to  him  that 
the  projected  tour  would  surely  be  tak.  n,  au.l  sa- 
gested  that  sixty  pounds  would  probably  suffice  to 


HTATIHN  AT  CfllKNO  RAI  376 

cover  U«  expeuHc.    lli.s  ni.I.v  i  »m'  he'""*  o"*" 

meeting  adjourned,  with  a  cheque  for  seventy  ,>onndH, 
The  timely  aid  swmed  anticipato  tlu-  dr up 
j.rnv.l  <.f  our  Mito.npf.    In  hit.  letter  be  suBgv^ted. 

I'erhapH  it  uuj?lit  Ik;  u  k<'"«I  ITecautlon  for  y<m  t«  let 
the  French  know  your  friendly  object,  and  lo  get  mi 
permimiun  to  travel  east  <.f  th.  ui.per  walerK  ..f  t'  -  Mft 
KT.n  '  as  far  an  vmi  deem  pmp.  r  for  ^..ar  pu.p<»*e- 
Hut  dear  Urol  her.  neek-and  I  intend  to  with  ym 
—the  Lord's  counsel  and  blessed  comfort  and  RWd 

^°Tlu.  I.. MI-  was  taiveii,  as  I  have  already  intimated. 

and  a  full  printed  rei-ott  was  sent  to  Mr.  Arthin^K'n. 

On  the  whole,  he  was  pleased;  but  it  is  n-i  .  to 

Hcrve  two  masters.    I  had  assur^l  Uiiu  aoju 

ginning  that  ruy  first  duty  was  to  my  misBion  a-. 

my  own  field.  Still  he  was  a  little  disappointed  U.at 
I  had  to  go  so  far  out  of  wav  to  join  Dr.  Peoples 
in  Nan;  and  a  little  more      that  we  could  not  get  up 

nearer  to  Tongking  to  give  his  favourite  John,  Luke, 
and  the  Acts"  to  the  tribes  supposed  to  be  Aryan 
descent,  found  bv  the  French  uaveller.  To  enable  me 
to  do  this,  he  said,  "  1  believe  1  should  have  great 
pleasure  in  sending  you  all  you  will  need  fmm  -ue 
He  even  intimated  once  that  he  would  he  will.ng  o 
nrovido  in  his  will  for  the  continuance  of  that  work. 
While  not  jealous  oi  ray  connection  with  the  Board, 
it  seemed  to  him  a  tantalissing  thing  that,  while  1  was 
oeographically  nearer  his  goal  i.an  any  one  else,  and 
*as,  moreover,  in  sympathy  with  his  devout  spirit 
and  evangelistic  aspiraticms  to  reach  the  "  regions  be- 
yond,**  I  was  not  free  to  carry  ont  Ms  favourite,  though 
(wmewhat  chimerical,  plans.  ^  ^  x 

The  last  letter  1  had  from  him  was  dated  October 


376  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


22d,  1898.  His  passion  was  then  as  strong  as  ever  to 
get  his  three  fayoiirite  books  to  **  the  tribes  mentioned 
by  the  French  traveller,  .  .  .  for  they  are  a  people  for 
whom  I  have  desired  much,  since  the  day  I  first  read 
of  them,  that  they  should  have  the  Gospel."  He  ex- 
pressed great  sympathy  with  my  disappointment  that 
the  French  would  not  permit  our  labouring  in  their 
territory,  adding,  "  Yet  the  Lord  will  not  be  robbed 
of  His  own."  His  death  occurred  not  very  long  after 
this.  Of  the  disposition  of  bis  large  estate  I  found 
the  following  acconnt  in  the  London  Daily  Oraphic: 

"  The  late  Robert  Arthington  of  Leeds,  left  about  £750,000 

to  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  the  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Society.  The  total  value  of  his  estate  was  £1,119,843. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  will 
receive  £415,000  and  the  London  Missionary  Society  £335,000. 
The  whole  of  the  money  must  be  spent  in  the  next  twenty 
years  on  new  missionary  work,  and  no  part  of  it  is  to  be 
spent  in  the  United  Kingdom." 

We  reached  Bangkok  on  September  11th,  1894. 
There  we  were  joined  by  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Howard 
Campbell  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  C  H.  Denman,  who  had 
come  via  the  Pacific.  Earlier  in  this  same  year  there 
had  come  to  the  station  iu  Mflang  Pr^,  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Thomas,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shields,  and  Miss  Hatch;  with 
the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  L.  W.  Gnrtis  and  Miss  Margaret 
Wilson  for  Lakawn. 

On  our  arrival  in  Ohiengmai  we  found  Mr.  Pliraner 
very  ill  with  abscess  of  the  liver,  and  suffering  at  times 
intoise  pain.  He  had  Leen  warned  by  physicians  and 
friends  to  desist  from  his  work  and  lake  his  furlough. 
But,  as  chairman  of  the  Evangelistic  (.'ommitteo,  he 
had  been  pushing  the  evangelistic  work  too  eagerly  to 


STATION  AT  CHIENG  BAI  877 


heed  these  warnings.  He  refnsed  to  leave  his  post 
till  those  who  were  absent  should  return.  Soon  after 
we  arrived  he  started  for  the  United  States,  but,  alas! 
it  was  too  late.  He  died  in  Singapore  on  January 
15th,  1895,  leaving  a  wife  and  two  little  boys  to  pttrane 
their  sad  jouruoy  alone.  Mrs.  Phraner — formerly  Miss 
Lizzie  Westervelt — had  served  a  useful  term  in  the 
(J iris'  School  before  her  marriage.  The  Phraner 
Memorial  School  for  small  children,  erected  by  the 
family  and  friends  beside  the  First  Church  in  Chieng- 
mai,  is  an  appropriate  tribute  to  their  labours  for  the 
Lao  race,  to  which  they  devoted  their  lives. 

The  year  of  our  absence  had  been  almost  a  banner 
year  as  regards  successful  evangelistic  work.  Mr. 
Dodd's  Training  School  had  furnished  a  larger  num- 
ber of  fairly  well  prepared  evangelists  than  we  ever 
had  before.  Between  forty  and  fifty  of  these  had  beaa 
actually  at  work  in  the  field  for  longer  or  shorter 
periods  during  the  year,  and  their  work  had  been  very 
successful.  The  Annual  Meeting  convened  in  Ohieng- 
mai  soon  after  our  return.  In  it  there  was  evident, 
on  the  part  both  of  missionaries  and  of  native  as- 
sistants, a  degree  of  enthusiasm  and  exuberant  ex- 
pectancy which,  under  the  most  favourable  circum- 
stances, could  hardly  have  escaped  the  inevitable  re- 
action. Krii  Nan  Ta,  a  man  of  magnetic  power  among 
his  people,  was  then  in  his  prime.  The  great  value  of 
his  services  raised  probably  to  an  excessive  degree  our 
estimate  of  the  necessity  of  more  ordained  native  la- 
bourers. If  one  had  done  so  much,  what  might  a  dozen 
or  a  score  accomplish?  And  there  were  the  men,  with 
two,  three,  or  even  -nore  years  of  training  in  the  study 
of  the  Bible.  Most  of  them  were  elders  or  deacons  in 
the  differ^t  churches.  They  had  proved  faithful  in 


378  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


little.  Why  might  they  not  be  trusted  with  more 
talents?  Nine  of  these  men  were  pree^ted  (or  ex- 
amination before  the  Presbytery. 

When  we  began,  it  was  thought — against  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Dodd,  who  was  on  furlough — that  one  or  two 
might  be  ordained  to  meet  the  immediate  needs  of 
the  work.  Some  of  them  had  spent  a  number  of  years 
in  the  Buddhist  priesthood,  and  had  some  knowledge 
of  Pali.  Others  were  without  such  education,  but 
nearly  all  had  learned  to  read  Siamese.  In  Biblical 
knowledge  they  had  made  fair  progress.  When  the 
examination  was  closed,  there  was  a  long  and  anxious 
deliberation,  with  special  prayer  for  divine  direction. 
It  was  quite  safe  to  ordain  one  or  two.  But  the  next 
candidate  was  so  near  the  sta-  '1,'  'd  of  these  that  it 
might  seem  invidious  to  exclude  him — and  so  with  the 
next,  and  the  next.  When  the  vote  was  taken,  six  were 
chosen  for  ordination  and  three  for  licensure.  The 
millennium  seemed  drawing  near! 

With  the  new  title  and  responsibility,  higher  wages 
were  naturally  to  be  expected.  And  it  was  precisely 
upon  this  rock  that  our  hopes  and  plans  suffered  ship- 
wreck. The  Board,  as  never  before,  began  to  insist  on 
the  native  churches  assuming  the  support  of  their  own 
evangelists.  Tlie  methods  of  mission  work  set  forth 
and  practised  in  China  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nevius  were 
urged  upon  us,  and  became  very  popular,  especially 
with  the  younger  members  of  the  mission,  though  in 
China  they  had  not  passed  beyond  the  stage  of  ex- 
periment. They  are  best  described  in  Dr.  Nevius'  own 
words: 

"These  two  ssrstems  may  be  distinguished  in  general  by 

the  foruitr's  depending  largely  on  paid  native  agency,  while 
the  latter  deprtcatea  aud  seeks  to  minimize  such  agency. 


STATION  AT  CHIENG  BAI  379 


Pcrliaps  an  equally  correct  and  more  generally  acceptable 
Btatement  of  the  difference  would  be,  that,  while  both  alika 
seek  ultimately  the  establishment  of  independent,  self- 
reliant,  and  aggressive  native  churches,  the  *  Old  System ' 
strives  by  the  use  of  foreign  funds  to  foster  and  stimulate 
the  growth  of  native  churches  in  the  first  stage  of  their 
development,  and  then  gradually  to  discontinue  the  use  of 
such  funds;  while  those  who  adopt  the  'New  System'  think 
that  the  denired  object  can  be  best  obtained  by  applying 
principles  of  independence  and  self-reliance  from  the  be- 
ginning. The  difference  between  these  two  theories  may 
be  more  clearly  seen  in  their  outward  and  practical  working. 
The  old  uses  freely,  and  as  far  as  practicable,  the  more 
advanced  and  intelligent  of  the  native  church  members,  in 
the  capacity  of  paid  Colporteurs,  Bible  Agents,  Evangelists, 
or  Heads  of  Stations;  while  the  new  proceeds  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  persons  employed  in  these  various  capacities 
would  be  more  useful  in  the  end  by  being  left  iu  tiieir 
original  homes  and  employments."  * 

The  result  was  that  the  mission  took  a  good  thing 

and  ran  it  into  the  ground.  Economy  became  almost 
a  craze.  The  churches  were  assessed— not  heavily,  it 
is  true — to  support  the  ministers;  and  the  ministera 
were  exhorted  to  take  whatever  stipend  was  agreed 
upon,  and  count  any  deficiency  in  it  as  a  voluntary 
contribution  on  their  part;  or  as  a  debt  they  owed 
their  countrymen  for  the  Qaipers  sake.  Neither 
parishioners  nor  workers  understood  the  scheme.  But 
it  was  tried  for  one  year;  and  at  the  next  Annual 
Meeting  (in  1895)  the  catastrophe  came.  The  churches 
had  been  asked  to  walk  before  they  could  stand ;  and 
the  ministers  were  to  work,  as  well  as  walk,  by  faith 
and  not  by  sight.  As  pastors,  their  expenses  were 
necessarily  increased.  They  had  to  draw  better,  and 
to  be  an  example  in  clothing,  and  edncating  thdr  f  am- 

>  MMednif  mmUn  Wtrk,  p.  4. 


380  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


ilies,  imd  iu  Litspilality.  It  seemed  to  them  that  they 
were  required  to  make  bricks  without  straw.  A  little 
yioldinfi  to  demands  that  were  not  unreasonable  would 
have  satislied  the  ministers,  and  the  churches  would 
have  been  encouraged  by  the  continuance  of  some 
support  from  the  Board  for  evangelistic  work,  even 
though  the  amount  was  much  reduced.  The  zeal  was 
well  meant;  but  we  broke  off  too  suddenly. 

For  the  unfortunate  results,  the  mission,  the  native 
ministers,  the  churches,  and.  indirectly,  the  Board 
should  share  the  responsibility.  The  advantages 
gained  by  our  Training  School  were  nullified,  and  all 
progress  toward  a  permanent  Theological  School  was 
at  an  end.  After  those  two  Annual  Meetings  there 
was  no  call  for  theological  training,  and  no  future 
for  a  native  ministry.  So  we  have  to  go  on  appealing 
to  the  Hoard  and  to  the  Aniericau  churches  for 
foreijin  woikers,  aitlioufjii  tiie  salary  of  one  of  these 
would  support  half  a  dozen  or  more  native  min- 
isters. 

It  is  easy  to  say  tliat  native  ministers  and  church 
members  should  be  willing,  out  of  pure  gratitude,  to 
labour  for  the  evangelization  of  their  own  people,  or 
that  such  and  such  other  races  have  done  so.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  Lao  chuicli  is  larjiely  indebted  for 
its  progress  to  the  power  exerted  by  the  church  itself. 
And  as  to  the  example  of  other  races,  we  must  re- 
member that  there  are  racial  differences.  Even  our 
nearest  Christianized  neifjhbours.  the  Karens,  stand  iu 
a  class  quite  by  themselves  iu  this  respect.  We  cau 
no  more  apply  one  rule  to  all  oriental  races  than  we 
can  enforce  western  customs  in  the  Orient.  Hut  we 
certainly  cannot  expect  happy  results  from  the  ap- 
plication of  rules  that  would  have  discouraged  our 


STATION  AT  CHIENG  RAI  381 


own  ancestors  when  the  first  Christian  missionaries 
found  them. 

Among  the  things  of  more  hopeful  augury  accom- 
plished in  the  year  181)4,  two  deserve  special  mention — 
the  establishment  of  Christian  Endeavour  Societies 
in  all  the  Lao  churches,  primarily  through  the  efforts 
of  Dr.  Deninan,  and  the  publication  of  the  Hook  of 
Tsalms  and  of  a  hymnal  of  over  two  hundred  hymns 
and  tunes.  The  Psalms  were  translated  by  Dr.  Wil- 
son, and  the  hymns  were  almost  wholly  from  his  i>en. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting,  to  which  reference  has  al- 
ready b^en  made,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  con- 
sider anew  and  re[>ort  on  the  question  whether  it  was 
or  was  not  advisable  now  to  occupy  the  northern 
l)ortion  of  the  field  with  a  permanent  station,  and,  if  it 
were  deemed  advisable,  to  determine  the  location.  I 
had  been  anxious  to  have  it  occupied  two  years  before 
this  time,  but  had  yielded  then  to  the  claims  of  Pr6 
and  of  Nan — of  Prfi  because  the  relief  work  among 
the  sufferers  from  famine  had  furnished  a  most  auspi- 
cious o]tening  there;  and  of  Nan  because  it  was  a  larger 
city  and  province  than  any  in  the  nearer  north.  Not- 
withstanding the  greater  progress  of  the  work  in  the 
north,  with  organized  and  growing  churches  in  Wieng 
Pa  Pao,  <Miieng  Rai,  and  Chieng  Sen,  there  seemed  to 
be  a  lingering  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  establishing 
permanent  stations  in  cities  so  small  as  these.  Most 
of  my  colleagues  had  never  visited  that  northern  region. 
No  one  save  myself  had  surveyed  the  whole  field.  Yet 
no  part  of  the  work  of  a  mission  is  more  important, 
or  requires  better  judgment,  than  the  location  of  its 
permanent  stations.  Although  fully  persuaded  in  my 
own  mind,  I  did  not  wish  the  mission  to  embark  on  a 
new  project  involving  outlay  of  money  and  of  men, 


382  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


without  the  mature  judgment  of  the  whole  mission. 
Hence  it  was  at  my  own  suggestion  that  the  committee 
was  appointed. 

On  January  20th,  1896,  Dr.  Denman  and  I  of  this 
committee  started  northward.  Mr.  Dodd  joined  us 
later.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  have  a  physician  along 
on  sQch  a  tour.  He  relieves  a  great  deal  of  suf- 
fering among  a  needy  people,  and  so  lifts  a  great  load 
of  care  from  his  companion.  Hut  beyond  this,  I  my- 
self had  quite  an  attack  of  fever  on  this  particular  trip, 
and  was  much  indebted  to  his  care  for  my  recovery. 
Then  we  had  the  stereopticon  along,  tind  lectured 
nearly  every  nig^t  to  large  audiences.  The  doctor 
manipulated  the  lantern,  and  left  the  explanation  and 
application  to  me.  Those  pictures  have  made  the 
Gospel  story  to  live  in  the  imaginatious  vf  many  thou- 
sands of  people.  The  occasional  introduction  of  a 
familiar  scene  from  native  life  serves  to  give  confidence 
that  the  others  also  are  real,  while  a  few  comic  ones 
interest  the  children,  old  and  young.  A  picture  of  the 
King  of  Siam — their  King — with  three  of  his  children, 
one  of  them  with  his  arms  about  his  father's  neck, 
always  attracted  great  attention,  and  was  ott&l  adEed 
for  again  at  the  close  of  the  exhibition. 

I  had  some  trouble  this  time  with  my  sadaw  ele- 
phant. At  one  stage  his  back  became  so  sore  that  I 
should  have  left  him  behind,  were  it  not  that  he  had  had 
a  serious  encounter  with  a  tusker,  and  1  dared  not  risk 
bim  in  that  vicinity.  He  escaped  from  the  encounter 
with  some  bruises,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  lie  in 
flicted  no  serious  wound  on  his  antagonist.  And  he 
was  quite  well  again,  before  we  got  home.  This  was, 
however,  the  last  tonr  he  made  with  me.  Elephants 
had  become  property  so  unsafe  that,  before  the  next 


BTATION  AT  GHIENO  BAI  883 


mason,  I  disposed  of  both  of  mine.  In  one  year,  out 

of  three  hundred  and  fifty  elephants  employed  by  a 
timber  firm,  thirty-two  died  and  twenty-two  were 
stolen.  But  it  was  like  parting  with  a  friend  to  see 
the  sadaw  go. 


The  committee  visited  the  three  northern  churches, 
and,  after  full  conference  both  with  the  local  rulers 
and  with  the  Christians,  reached  the  unanimous  deci- 
sion tliat  there  should  be  a  station  established  in  the 
north,  and  that  it  should  be  at  Chieng  Rui.  In  this 
we  were  lately  influenced  by  the  central  situation  of 
that  plafp  with  reference  to  a  considerable  group  of 
cities  and  towns  within  the  same  watershed,  and  all, 
liive  Chieng  Rai  itself,  rapidly  tilling  up  with  an  agri- 
cultural population  crowded  out  from  the  dear  and 
densely  settled  lands  further  south.  And  in  addition 
to  this  was  the  conviction  that  the  new  station  would 
prove  a  stepping-stone  to  the  large  northern  section  of 
the  Tai  race,  established  in  territory  which  is  now  E<ng- 
lish,  French,  and  Chinese.  We  still  think  that  some 
amicable  arrangement  should  be  made  with  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Missionary  Union,  by  which  the  Tai  race 
to  the  north  of  Slam  and  east  of  the  Salwin  should  be 
left  to  our  mission.  The  Union  has  a  great  work 
among  the  hill-tribes — a  work  for  which  they  are  spe- 
cially adapted  and  specially  well  equipped;  while  we 
are  equally  well  equipped  for  work  among  the  Tai. 

Dr.  Denman  viewed  the  field  with  special  interest, 
for  he  had  been  designated  to  help  in  opening  the  sta- 
tion, and  we  had  the  virtual  sanction  of  the  Board 
thereto.  It  v/as  the  prosjtect  of  having  a  physician 
that  specially  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  rulers  of 
Chieng  Mi;  though  both  they  and  their  people  were 


384   AMO\(;  Tin:  SIAMI^SR  ANT>  TRK  LAO 


frkudlv  to  our  work  on  other  grounds.  It  made  us 
sad  to  think  that  oar  old  friend  the  governor  had  not 
lived  to  see  the  niisHi«»n  started.  But  the  beautiful 
lot  fjivon  by  him  on  llie  .MA  Kok  will  always  be  a 
memorial  to  him.  In  due  time  Kev.  and  Mrs.  Dodd 
and  Dp.  and  Mrs.  Denman  moved  up  and  opened  the 
stafitiu.  The  years  have  abiiudautly  justified  the  wis- 
dom of  this  step.  In  1!>10  the  aeeessiims  to  the 
churches  in  Chieug  Hui  equalled  those  of  the  mt»ther 
church  in  Chiengmai. 

From  Chionn;  S«'n  we  sent  out  two  parties  of  evangel- 
ists, five  in  each,  well  loaded  with  Scriptures  and 
tracts,  one  northwestward  to  Keng  Tung,  and  the 
other  across  the  M6  Kong  to  Mfiang  Sing.  This  was 
the  very  first  mission  work  ever  d<me  in  the  Keng  Tung 
State.  These  parties  carried  also  a  supply  of  medi- 
cines, and  were  limited  in  time  to  two  and  a  half 
months.  They  were  everywhere  Well  received,  and  on 
their  return  gave  interesting  reports  of  their  work. 
Their  books  were  eagerly  read,  and  the  supply  of  them 
was  far  too  small.  There  were  a  number  of  interest- 
ing oases  of  believers.  Some  villages  were  loath  lo 
have  then'  leave.  The  experiment,  in  fact,  was  very 
successful. 

As  soon  as  our  committee  work  was  done,  Mr.  Dodd 
was  obliged  to  return.  After  visiting  the  Mfiso  villages, 
Dr.  Denman  and  I  moved  on  to  Chieng  Kawng.  This 
town  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  great  river 
within  the  fifte<'n  kilometer  zjme  which  was  reserved 
as  neutral  territory  upon  the  cession  of  the  left  bank 
to  France.  A  French  military  station  was  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  river,  and  a  small  gunboat  was  lying 
there — the  first  that  ever  came  up  through  the  rapids. 
Among  the  crew  wei-e  two  or  three  who  could  read 


STATION  AT  CHIENG  BAI  385 
Eliglish,  and  who  were  very  anxious  to  pet  Fnglish 
Bibles.  This  was  an  unexi>ected  request  whi.ir  we 
could  not  then  njeet.  But  I  applied  for  Hume  to  (he 
American  Bihlo  So,  i,.(.v.  and  received  them  jast  before 
I  started  on  my  trip  of  the  next  voar;  and,  linallv 
was  able  to  forward  them  to  the  men  from  Luang  I'm- 
bang.  The  caj.tain  of  the  gunboat  was  very  kind  to 
us  winle  we  sta.viKl  at  ChienK  Kawng,  and  was  much  In- 
terested in  having  bis  men  get  tlie  Bibles. 

Letters  were  presently  received  by  iJr.  Deuman  sum- 
moning him  hack  to  ('hi(.n-ii.ai  on  account  of  the  ill- 
ness of  his  wife.    This  left  ,ne  again  without  an  as- 
•ociate,  and  with  the  added  care  of  the  medical  woi  k 
which  cannot  be  avoided  on  such  a  tour,  and  wliich  of 
course,  rests  more  heavily  ..n  a  layman  than  it  does' on 
a  trained  physician.    Before  rotnrning  lu.nie  I  made 
a  call— and  I  believe  it  was  the  last  one— at  the  Mus6 
villages  beyond  the  m  KOng.   Again  my  hopes  were 
raised  of  gaining  the  whole  tribe.    With  such  a  pros- 
pect I  would  gladly  have  remained  with  them  several 
months.  But  again  I  had  to  leave  them  v  ith  only  the 
"next  3ear"  promise— which  never  was  fulfilled  I 
reached  home  on  May  5th,  after  an  absence  of  three  and 
a  half  monthfl. 


XXXI  n 


THE  RKGIONS  BEYOND 


WO  iini)<i,  t;i!'(  i    i  s  were  underiuken  hy  the  L&o 


Miuion  in        -one  at  the  opeeti^  of  the  ye»<*. 


^    MMltward  ;m(1  i.<  • 'liw  nrd  i   vond  the  M^^  Ko 
River  into  French  and  <  hlni  sc  ten  ,  or>  ;  and  the  oth.-r 
after  the  close  of  the  rainy  aeason,  northward  into 
British  territory.   The  latter  tour  led  to  far-reachiag 
^o^-ults,  but  "  does  not  •  ouw       h'm  i\  ■  nf  \  m 

personal  narrative.  Tlie  f»»ruu  r  was  jvndt'n  n  {»o«><il)le 
by  tlie  timely  gift  of  tter&iij  poundhs  from  Mr.  A  rtb  tup- 
ton,  already  nn-ntioned;  ari'i  ir  ircsenlcd  i^c  nearest 
appntach  we  cnuld  then  nuikt  tov ml  th*  Inlt  nu  nt  of 
his  great  desire  to  reach  with  ...e  Scrip!  uret^  tiiose 
"  tribes  of  Aryan  origin  "  in  the  '  regionti  beyond." 
Dr.  Peoples,  then  of  Nan,  was  mv  >  nipsnkia  duriii:^' 
part  of  this  tour;  and  we  weui  well  itnpplied  with 
Scriptares  and  tracts,  no  less  than  fourteen  carriers 
being  loaded  with  thene  alone.  I  h  ft  home  on  Janu- 
.  12th,  going  eastward  by  way  oi  awn  and  Pre 
to  Nan,  wht  re  Dr.  Peoples  was  to  jom  me.  At  each 
of  these  st-  aons  I  spent  a  bosy  and  a  deiightful  Son 
day;  and  m  Lakawn  as  1  a>  Nau  F  '  d  the  pleas- 
ant compii  of  Miss  Fleeson  .aid  Miss  I  <  liowman.  re- 
turning h  iheir  pu«l  from  the  Anuiial  Mt--iiug. 

One  ni^bt  on  thitt  portion  of  the  trip  we  were 
awakened  by  the  cries  of  our  men  and  '  j€  i^norting  of 
the  ponies,  to  &nd  that  we  had  a         ttom  ---  nigst 


8W 


387 


prowli       niiii  ip  y  !.  i  w».  Ii.  anl     lo  (•(;iM(m  of 

the  lot  I  >loiu  >     ,n  h  ...  I'd  u«  ht' s^jtrung  awa  •. 

The  tracks  we  founrt  n  Wif  oHirning  showed  him  m 
be  a  hiFKc  IWw^  u^-i  (in  his  siinw?  Hfretrh  of  road, 
a»  rtt-enii   a>^  li  h,  ii.     r  Nan  w(  ^  in  term  {ted 


.illfd 


w<i  K-n,  liP  flaall 
wii  iV  n    -'w  h 
pound. 
Ten  d-i> 
fi'oiifr  !lir 
m^ht  111  >. 

g(.-<Kl  i  'ii 

iri'      .•  M. 
its  stei 
internet  t!i  -t  *  - 
rhe  Prsvii — or  n, 

lip  in  lief  on 
(.'ai«-  in  the 
bade  ii-^  gtf 

uad  Tl'  ttie 
he  xt 


■IB  W)  cKpatr' 
=  red  var^  ^f 


eral  meii  and 
V  Dr.  Peoples 
miMdon  coin- 


were  -enf 
'eat  prt  in- 

at 


'HI! 

n 


t  i  iifi- 

for  =ne  as 
JeKiis  rin  - 


iUg  n<»rthward 
•pia^  idght  by 
c  .     ays  had 
{I.        4ay  we 
th«  n  tamed  eastwii  \,  strik- 
ud  nuikiiig  niii-  way  up 
i.au  llfii  Kfia  wi'  found  sucl 
-orrv  that  we  uiUBt  move  ou. 
ah  he  name  is  called  throeghoat 
iittemoon  in  tran.sci'ifii  .j^  in  tbt 
ater  the  tract  entitled  "  The  Way 
lad  he«fd  something  of  cor  re- 
ii  i      i-nier  princess  pupil  of  Miss 
I  HU..   -rhool  at  Hanj;koIi.    As  bo 
.    aid,  p»fintiug  upwards,  "  I  hope 
yoB'ier,"  and  seemed  pleased  that  we 
icij  ion. 

.iUday   we  camped  in   the  monastery 


Ban  Hfia  Ling.   The  peo})l"  began  to  as 
'  rcalifast,  and  long  beft  fu  it  was  time 
<!=       rvi.  e  the  {^rounds  were  full.  The 
...ulis  and  the  officers,  sat  directly  be- 
i^ned  the  method  of  salvation  through 
(     i   •  audience  listened  most  attentively. 
At  uiti  ciuae  ilie  uubui  and  the  officers  remained  for 


388  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


farther  conversation.  The  abbot  expressed  surprise  at 
our  errand.  lie  hart  never  known  of  anybody's  trav- 
elling about  simply  to  teach  the  people.  Some  ex- 
pressed fear  of  enconntering  the  anger  of  the  spirits 
if  they  should  no  longer  worship  them.  To  this  the 
doctor  gave  the  scientific  answer  that  fevers  and  most 
other  diseases  were  caused  and  propagated  by  specitic 
germs,  over  which  the  spirits  have  no  control  what- 
ever. This  was  to  them  a  now  idea,  but  they  seemed 
to  comprehend  it.  Next  morning,  when  we  left 
them,  the  people  followed  us  with  expressions  of  re- 
gret. 

When  we  reached  Chieng  Men,  a  town  on  the  west- 
ern bank  of  the  river  and  opposite  Luang  Prabang,  we 
fonnd  a  European  with  a  group  of  boys,  who  turned 
out  to  be  the  French  schoolmaster.  He  invited  us 
to  dine  with  him  tnat  evening,  and  the  next  day  aided 
us  in  crossing  the  river.  Our  flrst  duty  in  LQang 
Prabang  was  to  report  to  the  French  authorities,  M. 
Vackle,  the  Coniniaadant  Sup^rienr,  and  M.  (5 rant,  the 
Commissaire.  They  had  been  notified  from  Bangkok 
of  our  coming,  and  received  us  with  genuine  French 
hospitality.  We  never  met  two  more  perfect  gentle- 
men. They  even  offered  us  a  house ;  but,  as  the  abbot 
of  the  principal  monastery  was  a  personal  friend  of 
mine,  they  yielded  to  our  preference  to  stop  with 
him,  but  only  on  the  ground  that  there  would  be  more 
comfort  and  room  for  our  men. 

That  evening  we  were  invited  to  dine  with  M.  Vackle. 
M.  Grant  and  his  staff  were  present;  and  the  dinner 
was  a  royal  one,  to  which  we  were  prepared  to  do  full 
justice.  We  had  the  embarrassment  of  not  being  able 
to  converse  save  through  a  native  interpreter  not  well 
versed  either  in  French  or  is  English.   Bat  oar  host 


THE  REGIONS  BEYOND  389 


was  most  considerate,  as  were  also  his  French  guests. 
And  every  evening  dm  ing  our  stay  we  dined  with  one 
or  another  i)f  the  (iHieials. 

Next  day  we  called  ou  the  Lao  "  King,"  as  he  is  still 
enpbemistically  called,  though  possessing  only  snch 
powers  as  tlie  French  give  him.  When  we  made  our 
business  call  on  the  French  oflii  ials  io  ask  jicruiission 
to  proceed  on  our  missionary  tour  through  the  French 
territory,  they  were  very  obliging.  We  freely  discnssed 
together  alternative  routes,  aud  they  otfered  us  pass- 
ports tor  any  of  theiu.  When  at  last  with  some  hes- 
itancy, the  question  of  permanent  work  and  a  mission 
station  was  broached,  M.  Vackle  replied  that  for  that 
he  had  no  authority.  Application  would  have  to  be 
made  to  the  ernor  General  at  Hanoi,  and  prefer- 
ably throng^  Washington  and  Paris.  The  prospect 
still  seemed  hopeful. 

On  the  evening  before  our  departure,  M.  A'ackle  in- 
vited ns  to  dine  informally  and  spend  the  evi  uing  with 
him  at  his  beautiful  cottage  and  gardra  two  miles 
out  in  the  country.  On  nieoting  us,  our  host  said, 
"  The  other  night  I  was  the  Commandant  Hup6rieur, 
To-night  I  am  simply  M.  Vackle.  I  want  to  have  a 
pleasant  informal  evenin«:  with  you."  And  snrely  we 
did.  We  talked  of  the  old  friendship  between  France 
and  the  United  States,  of  Washington  and  La  Fayette, 
tbe  Chicago  Exposition,  the  Parliament  of  Religions, 
and  of  JI.  Vackle's  own  work  in  the  new  province. 
He  was  interested  in  the  Parliament  of  Keligions,  and 
asked  if  Roman  Catholics  were  equally  welcome  with 
Protestants.  He  had  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  nnm- 
ber  of  our  religious  sects.  We  told  him  that  the  great 
body  of  Protestants  were  included  in  five  or  six  groups 
Bomewhat  like  tlie  orders  of  the  Catholic  charch,  bat 


890  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

there  wore  niuncrous  siiuiIUt  siilidi visions,  lie  had 
heard  of  one  tlint  livotl  wholly  on  milk.  Of  this  we 
had  to  confess  ignorance,  unless  it  were  that  large 
group  that  we  call  infants. 

It  was  after  eleven  wlieu  wo  rose  to  take  our  leave; 
and  even  then  he  detained  us  to  see  by  torchlight  his 
beautiful  garden,  artificially  watered,  and  his  bowling 
alley— insisting  that  we  try  a  turn  on  it.  This  was 
what  1  had  never  dtme  before,  but  at  the  litsl  bowl  I 
brought  down  several  pins.  This  phased  hiuj,  and  he 
said  that  he  had  never  seen  a  better  first  play. 

On  taking  our  final  leave,  we  spoke  a  last  word  for 
permanent  mission  work,  reminding  him  thut  while 
Catholicism  and  Protestantism  had  alike  produced 
great  nations,  Buddhism  never  had;  and  that  it  was 
therefore  political  wisdom  to  encourage  and  foster 
the  Christian  religion  in  the  provinces.  He  assented, 
but  said  he  feai«d  that  the  "King"  might  ima^ne 
that  his  subjects  would  be  less  loyal  if  they  became 
Christians.  We  assured  him  that  the  reverse  would  be 
true,  since  it  was  a  fundaiuental  point  in  our  teaching 
as  well  as  in  the  Scriptures,  that  Christians  were  to 
be  obedient  to  their  rulers. 

Among  the  routes  offered  we  chose  the  northern  one 
as  most  nearly  meeting  Mr.  Arthington's  desires.  Our 
passport  stated  that  we  were  Bat  I^iiangs,  i.e.,  Cath- 
<ilic  priests.  We  left  LOang  P  -'bfint;  on  Monday, 
March  8th,  crossed  the  Nam  tJ  near  its  mouth,  and 
spent  three  weeks  on  our  way  to  Mfiang  Sai.  At  one 
point  there  was  a  theft  of  a  considerable  amount  of 
our  money,  which  deiayed  us  a  day  or  two,  but  an- 
noyed us  more.  The  thieves  turned  out  to  be  some 
of  our  own  men,  who  afterwards  confessed,  and  eventu- 
ally  we  recovered  tbe  moiwy.  From  M(Uaig  Sai  there 


THE  REdlONS  ISEVOND  ;Wl 

is  a  good  route  to  Nan,  aud  as  uo  man  had  been  left 
in  that  station  along  with  the  ladies,  Dr.  Peoples  felt 
that  he  must  return  to  it,  while  I  should  go  on  north- 
ward to  the  Si{).>^a\vnf?  Pannfi  and  finally  return  to 
(Jhiengmai  along  the  route  which  1  took  with  Mr. 
Irwin  in  1893.  His  departure  was  a  great  loss  to  me 
personally,  and  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  tear.  He 
left  us  on  March  31st. 

The  next  week  was  one  of  intense  interest  to  me. 
One  of  its  days  was  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  my 
arrival  in  (Miicngmai,  and  frauf,'ht  with  memories  of 
the  hopes,  achievements,  and  disappointments  of  all 
those  years.  And  were  we  now,  perhaps,  on  the  eve 
of  a  new  opening  with  wider  possibilities  than  ever? 
So  it  seemed.  For,  one  day  as  I  was  in  the  monastery 
at  Mtiang  Sai,  there  entered  an  officer,  S&i  Suriya  by 
name,  who,  making  the  obeisance  usually  made  to 
priests,  explained  that,  having  been  absent  from  home, 
he  hau  not  heard  the  instruction  we  had  given  at  our 
evening  worship.  His  wife,  however,  had  reported  that 
a  teacher  from  a  greri;.  and  distant  country  was  come 
with  Scriptures  and  an  offer  of  salvation  from  the 
great  God  of  all.  It  was  the  great  desire  of  his  heart 
to  be  saved  from  his  sins.  His  interest  was  evidently 
intense,  and  that  roused  our  interest  in  him.  Prom 
three  o'clock  till  nightfall  our  elders  and  I  explained 
to  him  the  great  truths  of  revelation,  while  he  listened 
almost  with  rapture. 

In  the  midst  of  this  earnest  conference  the  "  ilchan," 
or  chief  officer  of  the  monastery,  came  in;  and  Sen 
Suriya  j.  ed  us  in  explaining  to  this  friend  the 
Strang  :  ii«  h  <  be  had  heard.  The  fichin  was  soon  as 
deeply  rested  as  he.  He  also  desired  to  know 
further  of  this  matter.   Before  we  parted  that  evening, 


30J  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


s^n  Suiiya  luid  accepted  the  teaching  joyfully;  and 
his  tricriti,  with  more  reservation. 

Soon  others  had  joined  these  two — notably  a  fam- 
ily of  refugees  from  persecution  for  witchcraft.  They 
were  readv  to  a-i-ept  anything  which  would  deliver 
them  from  l)ondaf,'t'  to  the  spirits,  (^n  Sunday  at  the 
public  service  the  instruction  was  directed  to  the  needs 
of  these  enquirers,  all  of  whom  were  present.  The  cost 
was  to  be  counted;  the  cross  was  to  be  taken  up;  but 
the  reward  was  great.  Sen  Suriya's  wife  and  family 
all  opposed  him.  He  had  si>ent  an  anxious  night,  and 
was  under  great  strain;  but  was  still  firm.  He  was 
ready  at  any  cost. 

His  friend  the  achan  had  received  his  appointment 
in  the  monastery  from  the  Pla,  or  head-officer.  For 
honesty's  salie  he  felt  he  must  notify  the  Pia  and  re- 
sign his  position.  It  was.  therefore,  arranjred  that  our 
elders  and  I  should  go  with  the  two  friends  on  that 
errand  that  very  afternoon.  We  went,  and  were  kindly 
received.  Sen  Suriya.  as  spokesman,  witnos.sed  a  good 
confession.  They  had  been  men,  he  said,  who  all  their 
li'-es  had  sought  merit  and  followed  the  teachings  of 
tue  Huddlia,  but  with  great  an.xiety.  on  account  of  their 
failures.  Now  they  had  learned  of  tlie  great  refuge  of 
the  <iod  who  could  pardon  and  save  both  in  this  and  in 
the  coming  world.  Their  motive  was  strictly  religions. 
They  would  be  as  loyal  as  ever,  and  would  j»erform 
faithfully  their  government  duties.  The  achau  said 
that  his  friend  had  fully  expressed  his  views,  but  he 
wished  further  to  resign  his  position  in  the  monastery. 
Tin-  I'Ta  listened  witli  evident  interest,  but  with  some 
surpris*'.  When  lie  spoke,  he  said:  "All  that  I  know 
of  religion  I  have  learned  from  these  two  men.  They 
know  manifold  more  than  I  do.   If  they  see  it  right, 


THE  REGIONS  BEYOND  393 

how  can  I  oppose?  I  will  still  take  tliem  as  my  re- 
ligions (t  iKheis,  and  will  learn  Christianity  of  them." 

I  added  a  word,  emphasizing  their  assurance  that 
being  good  Christians  would  only  strengthen  their  loy- 
alty. Thanking  the  Pla  for  his  kindness,  I  retired. 
How  much  of  his  liberality  was  due  to  my  presence— 
if  it  were  so  due  at  all— 1  do  not  know.  But  next 
morning  Sen  Buriya  came  to  say  that  he  could  not 
withstand  the  opposition  of  his  wife  and  family.  While 
his  faith  was  firm  as  ever,  he  could  do  no  more  this 
year.  By  another  year  he  hoped  their  opposition  might 
be  relaxed.  Meantime  the  family  of  refugees  had 
weakened.  I  supplied  all  these  with  medicine,  and 
urged  them  to  remain  steadfast  in  the  faith,  reminding 
them  that  baptism  was  not  essential  to  salvation. 

I  had  made  farther  stay  in  Mfiang  Sai  dependent 
upon  the  outcome  in  the  case  of  these  two  men.  So 
now  it  seemed  best  to  continue  my  journey  northward. 
I  went  out  to  a  retired  wooded  hillock,  and  there  spent 
a  quiet  season  in  prayer,  commoiding  those  in  whom 
I  had  become  so  intensely  intep-sted  to  the  care  of 
the  Divine  Teacher,  and  seeking  direction  for  my 
further  coarse. 

So  far  we  had  not  met  many  of  the  hill-tribes,  which 
had  been  one  of  the  main  objectives  of  the  t<nir.  As  I 
descended  from  the  hill,  1  found  some  thirty  Kamus 
jast  arrived  on  some  govemmoit  work,  and  encamped 
by  the  road.  I  turned  aside  to  speak  with  them,  when, 
to  my  surprise,  one,  taller  and  more  intelligent  than 
the  rest,  answered  me  in  good  Luo.  To  my  greater 
surprise,  when  I  handed  him  a  tract,  he  began  to  read 
it.  It  seems  that,  when  a  lad,  he  had  been  initialed  into 
the  monastic  order  by  the  I'lincess  of  Luang  Prabang, 
and  was  one  of  the  very  few  of  his  tribe  who  was  a 


394  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

fairly  good  Lfio  si  luilar.  lie  was  delighted  to  get  the 
book;  hut  I  \v:i>  like  a  iiiiuer  who  has  found  a  new 
gold  Mine.  Uad  they  been  ready  to  return  to  their 
homes,  I  should  at  once  have  gone  wiA  them.  A  new 
vision  seenitd  to  open  before  mv  of  work  aun.iijr  that 
interesting  tribe.  1  had  seen  ihe  great  value  ol  ihe 
help  afforded  by  (Jha  I'Q  Ka».  the  first  Mwd>  convert, 
in  work  among  his  tribe.  Bvt  he  was  not  .  holar, 
aiid  was  too  old  to  learn,  llert-  w:is  a  Kaiiiu  liolar. 
M^t  he  not  have  Iteen  raised  up  tor  this  very  purpose? 

That  evening  1  s\)mt  with  my  elders  in  their  camp. 
I  left  with  luy  new  friend  a  number  of  books,  wliii  li 
he  promised  to  read  lo  his  iKMijiie.  I  took  down  the 
names  of  their  villages,  and  promised  if  possible  to 
visit  them  next  year — which  they  all  begged  me  to  do. 
That  a;>parently  lasual  meeting  sci'mcd  to  me  u  bnid 
call,  Come  over  and  help  us!  And  it  led  ttt  a  most  in- 
teresting work,  which  was  stopped  only  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  French. 

Leaving  Miiaug  Sai,  we  j(»urueyed  northward  along 
the  telegraph  road,  enlivened  by  noble  views  of  long 
slopes,  deep  gorges,  and  high  peaks.  We  passed  some 
villages  of  the  Yao  tril)e  with  whom  we  could  converse 
only  by  signs.  On  the  third  day  out,  at  I{an  Na  Tawng, 
we  left  the  telegraph  road,  turning  off  at  right 
angles  to  MOang  LS.  At  one  village  the  head  man 
assembled  his  people  to  mit't  us,  when  he  learned  that 
here  was  a  man  from  seven  days  beyond  the  great 
French  country!  At  one  place  we  passed  a  village  of 
Lentlns,  so  named  from  the  tlistrict  in  (.'ochin  China 
fntm  whi(  h  they  came.  They  showed  tliei"  Chinese  in- 
genuity by  having  their  rice  pounding  done  by  water- 
power. 

Mftang  Ai  was  the  last  town  in  French  territory;  be- 


THE  REGIONS  BEYOND  395 


yond  it  one  enters  the  province  of  Yunnan,  China. 
Here  we  bad  scarcely  pitched  our  tent  before  the  gov- 
ernor had  road  our  little  tract  ou  '*  The  Way  to  Hap- 
piness," aud  asked  us  to  stay  awhile  to  teach  his 
people.  This  we  did,  remaining  from  Friday  till  Tues- 
day, lie  invited  us  to  \v(trslii[)  in  his  house,  which  was 
tilled  to  overilowinf^.  On  Saturday,  in  coinpany  with 
the  governor,  1  attended  a  wedding  least.  1  got  along 
finely  with  the  various  dishes  until  a  bowl  of  blood 
fresh  from  a  slaughtei-ed  hog  was  i)assed  around,  and 
each  guest  took  a  spoonful !  My  note  upon  leaving  the 
town  was,  "  It  is  wonderful  how  many,  especially  of 
the  otlicers  and  the  more  thoughtful  class,  are  struck 
witli  the  self-evidencing  truths  of  the  (k»spel  on  its  tirst 
presentation.  xVnd  their  first  thought  is  the  sincere 
conviction  that  the  Gkmpel  meets  their  wants.  Nor  is 
this  testimony  invalidated  because,  when  they  come  to 
count  the  cost,  they  are  not  willing  to  pay  it." 

I  was  much  pleased  to  hear  uuiforui  testimony  to 
the  uprightness  of  Fr«)ch  oflicials.  My  own  rrapect 
for  French  rule  had  fjre:itly  inereased  since  we  en- 
tered their  territory.  Is  it  that  the  Tai  race  beyond 
the  Edng  is  more  religious,  or  is  it  on  account  of 
the  French  rule,  that  people  there  seem  more  deeply 
interested  in  the  (losj)el  iiicssa^e?  Hut  sucli  has  been 
the  fact.  I  have  never  been  cheered  by  brighter  visions 
of  hopeful  and  speedy  results  of  our  labours.  It  seems 
almost  inconceivable  that  a  European  nation  should 
forbid  missionary  work  among  its  i)eople. 

From  this  point  on  we  were  warned  not  to  allow  our 
party  to  be  separated  on  the  march.   Shortly  before 
this  a  merchant  travellinjr  with  his  son  had  been  at 
tacked  aud  killed.    I  heard  of  two  mountain  tribes  in 
this  neighbourhood  new  to  me.  and  of  a  third  further 


396  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


to  the  northwest,  which  sacriflcos  at  every  rice-harvest 
a  iiuiuun  victim  captiiml  from  sniiie  other  tribe. 

Scarcely  any  ono  liad  ever  licanl  nf  tlic  nanio  of  Jesus. 

Not  far  Irom  the  tt)\vu  we  passed  ou  a  ridge  u  well- 
marlced  boundary  stone  with  the  letters  B.  P.  (R6- 
pul)li(nie  1'rain.aise)  on  one  side,  and  C.  R.  (Cbieng 
liuug)  ou  the  other,  iu  larpe  Koinan  capitals.  Notic- 
ing by  tbe  roadside  a  large  stack  of  bricks,  we  learned 
that  we  were  near  the  salt  wells,  and  that  the  salt  was 
compressed  into  bricks  for  easier  transportation  on 
mules.  Tbe  salt  industry  makes  Itan  Itaw  Ke  uu  im- 
portant place.  No  one  with  white  clothes,  white  hair, 
or  white  lieard  is  allowed  to  enter  the  enclosure  about 
tbe  salt  wells;  so  1  did  not  see  them.  1  could  get  no 
reason  for  tbe  probibition,  save  tbat  tbe  spirits  would 
be  displeased. 

The  lime  of  my  visit  was  unfortunate,  being  the  be- 
ginning of  tbeir  New  Year  festival,  which  is  always  a 
season  of  carousal.  That  nigbt  we  bad  a  scene  tbat 
defied  description.  After  supper  a  man  came  to  tell 
me  to  get  ready;  Ibey  we-re  going  to  "saw"  me.  I 
did  nut  know  what  "  saw  "  iug  might  be;  but  1  soon 
learned,  to  my  disgust.  Presently  a  noisy  crowd  en- 
tered the  sala  where  I  was,  with  drums,  fifes,  ani  other 
musical  instruments,  and  surrounded  me  with  deafen- 
ing noise  and  songs.  A  great  personaige  had  come  to 
their  place,  and  they  were  come  to  do  him  honour. 
He  had  great  riches,  and  they  e.v^ k  ted  a  treat  of  fifty 
raises.  Paying  no  attention  to  my  attempted  dis- 
claimt',  they  went  on:  "Give  us  out  your  money. 
Give  us  fifty  rui>ees!  Give  us  twenty-five! "  Pushing 
my  way  out  of  the  noisy  circle,  I  was  followed  with 
more  imperative  demands.  At  last  tbe  governor's  son 
came  up  as  a  friend  and  advised  me  to  give  them  five  or 


THE  REQIONR  BEYOND  307 

six  niiiecs,  or  fhoy  would  never  tlepart.  Then  om  of 
my  elders  (  aiiie  to  me,  anzioas  regarding  the  outcome, 
and  sjiid  lluit  it  was  only  a  New  Year  cnstnio,  not  a 
religious  oue— inliiiiatint,'  tl'Ut  1  need  have  no  con- 
iwientlong  scmpleti  in  tlie  matter.  Finally  the  gov 
ei  nor's  sou  said  he  could  get  them  off  with  three  rupees. 
I  had  t.uly  one  in  my  poeket,  and  did  not  dai-c  open 
my  box  before  that  uiob.  At  last  I  handed  the  young 
man  that  one,  and,  with  an  emphasis  which  they  under- 
stood, fold  him  that  I  would  give  no  more,  ap|)caling 
to  his  father  for  protection,  and  holding  him  re 
sponsible  for  the  consequenccH.  They  went  off  sullenly 
ent.ugh.  Having  gone  so  far,  I  doubt  whether  they 
wonld  have  desisted  without  something  "  to  save  their 
face."  From  me  they  went  to  the  governor's,  and  so 
on,  in  order,  throughout  the  place,  with  their  hideous 
noise,  which  I  could  hear  far  on  into  the  night. 

At  anothi-r  village  further  on,  the  peoi)Ie  seemed  in 
doubt  how  to  receive  me,  till  a  ,\oung  man  came  for- 
ward and  asked  if  I  were  not  the  man  who  a  few 
years  ?)eforc  travelled  through  that  country  with  an 
elephant,  and  let  the  Prince  of  Muang  IV.ug  have  a 
gun.  Then,  turning  to  the  head  man,  he  said,  "  You 
need  not  be  afraid.  He  is  a  teacher  of  the  Jesus- 
religion."  My  standing  in  that  village  was  issnred. 
One  of  the  listeners  at  our  worship  in  the  monastery 
that  night  was  much  impressed,  not  with  the  idea  of 
pardon,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  but  with  that  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  purify  and  cleanse.  That  was  what 
he  needed;  and  he  earnestly  enquired  how  to  obtain 
bis  aid.  This  led  to  the  subject  of  prayer  to  a  tiving, 
personal  (lod,  who  has  promised  this  aid.  Wc  left  him 
with  the  hope  that  his  great  need  would  be  supplied. 
Mftang  La  was  the  farthest  point  reached  on  this 


398  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


lour.   From  it  we  rttrnck  westward  into  our  old  ronte 

«if  Ib'.i'.i  iit  MCiaiij;  IViiij;.  'I  he  (  luio  I'Ti  u  lio  got  my 
gnu  liiid  k'l'ii  killt'il  liv  liis  luHtplc  1  \Tas  iiuicli  sfruok 
witli  tbe  Judiciul  asjuTt  of  tl»e  act  as  told  uie.  One 
of  the  officers  uald,  "  He  was  a  bad  man,  who  op- 
pressed tlie  ptMtple,  liued  and  executed  them  utijuHtly, 
and,  of  course,  we  killed  him.  That  is  the  way  the  L&o 
do."  A  nephew  and  adopted  son  of  the  murdered 
Prince  succeeded  him,  but  the  authority  was  largely  in 
the  haiiils  ^•f  the  I'raya  I.Tiaiig,  though  the  young 
Trime's  mother  also  had  great  inlluence.  She  invited 
me  to  a  good  dinner,  and  we  hud  a  most  interesting 
conversntiun.  Among  other  things  she  asked,  "How 
is  it  that  you  say  IJuddliism  cannot  save?"  and  she 
seemed  much  impressed  with  the  answer:  Jlecanse 
Gautama  Buddha  is  gone,  and  it  is  more  than  twenty- 
five  hundred  years  before  the  next  ItudUha  is  expected  " 
We  were  now  travelling  southward,  and  soon  canie 
once  more  ui»on  the  tricolour  tloating  over  the  French 
post  at  Mfiang  Sing.  I  felt  like  salnting  it.  I  was 
greatly  surprised  to  f^nd  an  Englishman,  Mr.  Eva,  in 
charge,  lie  fairly  shouted  to  hear  his  mother  tongne 
once  mot«.  He  bad  scarcely  heard  a  word  of  it  for 
three  years.  Seeing  that  I  was  spent  with  my  long, 
hot  ride,  and  that  niy  carriers  would  not  get  in  till 
nightfall,  he  kindly  oll'ered  to  hunt  me  up  some 
luncheon.  This  I  declined,  if  only  I  might  bare  a 
Clip  of  tea  and  a  piece  of  dry  bread.  Holding  up  both 
hands,  he  exclaimed,  "You've  got  me  there!  I've  al- 
most forgotten  how  wheat  bread  tastes."  He  insisted 
on  my  taking  up  my  quarters  in  his  bungalow,  til!  I 
said,  "  If  you  were  on  French  business,  you  would 
wish  to  stop  where  you  could  best  accomplish  it,  would 
you  not?   I  am  here  on  missionary  work,  and  my 


THE  BEGION8  BEYOND  399 

basii^m  w  wUh  the  ix'oplo.  The  inoniiHtery  grounds 
will  8uit  ine  ImiUt.'  "Looking  at  It  in  that  light," 
«ai(i  he.  "  you'ro  rmht.  I'll  s;iy  no  iiiort'."  I  know 
that  in  the  huine  of  a  rieuch  official  1  nhould  have  no 
▼Isiton  at  all. 

He  was  tlie  son  of  an  [:nf?lisli  Wesh'van  minister; 
but,  being  a  wild  lad,  he  had  wandcitd  away  and 
drifted  Into  the  French  army,  wheie  he  rose  to  an  of- 
li.ial  position.  But  the  influences  of  his  early  days 
had  not  been  lost.  Wo  had  many  heart  to  heart  lalks 
together,  lie  wanted  an  English  Bible.  Uaviuf;  only 
my  "Oxford"  along,  I  conid  not  spare  him  that,  hut 
brought  him  one  on  my  next  lour.  On  Kunday  he  at- 
tended the  service  led  l>y  the  elders,  phased  at  the 
evidence  they  gave  of  the  reality  of  uur  missionary 
work.  He  bad  six  tbonsand  Kamns  in  his  district. 

The  opium  habit  is  very  con  >n.    We  found  but 

few  monasteries  in  the  Sipsawug  Pauna  whose  abbots 
and  monks  did  not  use  opium.  One  man,  wh^n  asked 
whether  be  nsed  it,  made  a  significant  answer:  "  When 
I  have  money,  I  dr).    When  I  have  none,  1  ilon't." 

The  Ohao  Fu  of  MCkang  Sing  was  busy  in  epai  ing  for 
the  marriage  of  bis  dangfater  with  a  son  of  the  great 
Chao  Fu  of  Cbioig  Rung.  So  I  did  not  see  much  of 
him.  I  had  a  long  talk,  howem,  wi-'i  the  prospective 
groom.  He  doubted  the  poasibiltty  of  pardon  for  sin. 
I  had  several  interviews  with  Dr.  HcKean's  patirat 
for  calculus,  before  mentionc  lie  was  not  so  near 
Christianity  as  I  hoped  to  find  him^  but  was  profuse 
in  praise  of  the  doctor  and  the  hospital.  He  had  two 
wives  before  the  operation,  and  now  was  ntilising  bis 
new  lease  of  life  by  taking  another  younger  one.  I 
saw  here  some  peaches  not  quite  ripe — which  was  very 
tantalizing.   Bnt  I  did  get  some  ripe  plums. 


400  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


When  I  left  MAan;;  SIdk  on  Api-il  2Sth,  Mr. 
IWa  escorted  me  !<ix  inilt's  on  my  way.  aiiti  we 
l>a»l«'  nil  (itlwr  nomMiye  fmir  (»r  ti\t'  tinu's  hclor*'  we 
KMikl  tiiially  puit.  At  Wicng  ITikii  1  Imd  uut>ther 
warm  welcome  from  the  French  Commimaire.  I  had 
to  (If(  liin"  Ilis  invita!i(»n.  also,  to  ho<mI  qiiartct-M 
with  him;  hut  diued  with  him  ut  night,  uud 
next  momtnt;  he  wnt  me  a  nice  Hhoulder  of  beef.  A 
htri;(>  iiiiiiilti'i-  (if  Kamutf  were  here  eiii<;iiK<^d  on  some 
piililic  Works.  I'lilikc  most  of  llitir  trilic,  llicsc  are 
liuddhi:4ts,  und  there  were  a  nuuil)er  who  rouid  i-eud, 
and  who  were  delighted  to  get  books.  It  wuk  remark* 
Hble  that  tlieir  women  sftuke  l.ao  fairly  well.  Their 
eliief  otlicer  liad  eighteen  hundred  men  under  him. 
After  talking  with  them  till  near  midnight,  I  turned 
them  over  to  the  elders,  and  wan  tMHtn  aiileep.  Next 
morniufr  my  cook  <  iiiin'  to  my  tent  to  eniinirc  whether 
1  were  not  ill.  It  wj^  hulf  past  nix,  and  breukfast  was 
ready! 

We  passed  many  Kamii  villa;j;es  in  iliiM  portioa  of 
our  route.  .Mosi  of  them  would  welcome  a  missionary, 
and  seemed  ripe  for  I  lie  <  ioM[tel.  Formerly,  under  the 
government  of  NOn,  they  bad  an  easy  time,  with  no 
taxes  and  almost  voluntary  service.  Now  they  natu- 
rally eumplained  of  the  stricter  ri'gime  of  the  French. 
I  consoled  them  with  the  fact  that  the  world  over 
people  have  to  pay  taxes  to  the  government  that  pro- 
tects ttiem.  For  this  I  did  not  at  all  liccfl  tlie  warn- 
ing which  Mr.  Eva  gave  me,  that  the  one  thing  wliieh 
the  French  would  not  tolerate  was  interference  with 
their  f^ov<'rnment  work.  At  ("hieiifi  Kawufj  !  took 
leave  of  French  territory,  with  nolliiuji  but  fecliii;is  of 
gratitude  for  the  uniforu)  |»i'rsonal  kindness  of  their 
oSicials,  and  their  appar«itly  kind  interest  In  our 


THE  REOION8  BEYOND  401 

work.  That  work  I  niutit  now  diHrniMn  wuli  the  very 
brief  oiitlino  I  have  given.  I  believe  that  light  was 
( onvpypd  In  nijin.v  sickn-H  after  truth,  and  seed  was 
hown  wbi<  h  will  nut  be  lost. 

From  Vh\eng  Kawng  nnwardii  I  was  on  old  touring 
pruiind,  mill  jiiiioHf,'  fii»  n.Is.  I  spt  iif  a  Snndny  there, 
luude  a  slmrt  v'mit  lo  flic  .i.sA  hills,  iitiil  Liiiiul  a  warm 
welcome  in  Chicng  IMi  fi<.iii  thi-  two  missionary  fam- 
ilies who  were  now  establii^ed  in  that  station,  as  well 
as  fiom  in.v  many  t);itivc  fii.-nds.  Here  I  m-eived  my 
long  dL'Kirwl  mail.  ItH  ^ood  cheer  was  tempered  by 
one  sad  piece  of  tows— the  death  of  my  siater  Maiy 
and  ui\  hr<;  'i«'p  Kvandcr,  the  last  of  my  own  mother's 
ihildicii  On  May  lUtli  I  cnlcrcil  ii|Min  niy  own  thrco- 
scoit!  and  lentil  year.  Ix^uving  ( "hieng  Kai  on  the  18th, 
I  reached  home  on  the  2«th,  after  an  absence  of  fonr 
and  a  half  niontlis. 

Meanwhile  the  work  it  onr  own  md  in  aU  the 
other  stations  had  ln^'n  euerge;!-  .  ''v  prosecuted  by  a 
faithfu  and  of  younger  workers,  u  ■  t- nrepared  than 
the  old  ones  to  oarry  it  on  to  :•  (.  i  And  the 
othj-r  long  tour  to  the  Englinh  te  ■  .  ianned  for 
the  later  portion  of  the  year,  was  t.i.'.<:ts  iully  carried 
ont  by  Dr.  Briggs,  Bev.  Mr.  Dodd,  and  Ber.  Mr.  Irwin. 


XXXIV 


THE  CLOSED  DOOR 
HE  tour  of  1898  was  undertaken  with  two  upe- 


(iiil  objoots  in  view:   (1)   to  follow  up  the 


auspifiou.s  begiuuin};^  of  work  among  the  Kainu 
and  LamSt  tribes,  tlie  largest  and  moHt  important 
within  the  nionnliiin  area  cxjdored  during  the  previ 
ous  M^asou,  and,  apparent l.v,  ready  as  a  body  to  accept 
the  (lospel;  and  (2)  t«i  secure  the  Nanction  of  the 
French  government  for  continued  work  in  French  ter- 
rili>rv.  1  was  unable  to  secure  i  niissionarv  colleague 
for  the  lour,  and  therefore  went  accompanied  only  by 
native  evangel  ists.  I  took  the  most  direct  ronte,  erod- 
ing the  Me  Kong  at  Pak  Il^ng,  following  the  Il^ug 
reiver  to  its  source,  and  I'rossin;^  by  the  jiass  at  its 
head  to  Muang  Sal,  the  |H)int  at  which  the  most 
promising  work  of  the  previous  tour  was  begun.  The 
journey  so  fnr  occupied  nearly  a  month's  time. 

The  tour  \v;is  organized  on  notice  too  sho.'t  to  per- 
mit my  passport  from  the  United  States  Minister  in 
Bangkok  to  reach  me  in  Chiengmai  before  I  started. 
It  was.  therefnre,  smf  on  direct  to  the  I'^rench  author 
ities  at  Luang  I'rabang.  Meantime  M.  Vackle,  the 
Commandant  Snp^rienr,  who  was  so  kind  to  us  the 
year  before,  Iiad  In'en  8U|)erse<le<l  by  M.  Luce;  and  him, 
unfortunately,  we  just  niiss<Ml  at  t!ie  crossing  of  the 
Me  Ivfing.  He  passed  up  In  a  steamer  the  day  iKjfore 
we  reached  the  river,   liy  the  time  we  reached  M6ang 


THE  CLOSED  DOOR 


403 


Sai,  M.  Luce  had  returned  to  Luang  Trabung,  and  bad 
wired  to  the  ofBee  in  Mdaiig  Sat  that  my  pamport 

was  come,  and  that  I  was  expected  in  Liiang  Prabang. 
No  inatructions  were  given  regarding  my  work,  and 
the  aathorities  were  in  doubt  what  to  do.  Under  the 
circuinsranct's.  tlie  only  passport  they  could  imae  was 
one  to  tlic  capital,  Luanp  I'labanf;. 

They  were  not  particular,  however,  as  to  the  route 
I  should  take.  So  I  chose  a  circuit  to  the  northeast, 
leading  (hrouph  the  mountain  region  to  the  0  River, 
down  which  1  could  descend  bv  boat  to  Lfiuiifi  I'ra- 
bang.  This  would  enable  me  to  lind  Nan  Tit,  ine  Kaniu 
scholar  whom  I  met  at  Mdang  Sai  on  my  previous 
tour,  and  to  visit  with  liiiii  a  few  Kaiiiii  villages.  The 
extent  of  the  v  oik  1  ho|»ed  to  undertake  that  season 
would  depend  upon  the  opening  I  found  there.  A  pass- 
port was  given  ine  by  that  route,  and  a  soldier  was  sent 
aUtng  as  gtiide  and  escort. 

Nan  Tit,  as  1  hoi>ed,  had  read  the  books  1  gave  him, 
had  prepared  rhe  way  for  me  by  teaching  the  sub- 
stance of  them  t(»  his  neighbours,  and  now  would  as- 
sist me  in  teaching  his  tribe.  With  him  as  interpreter 
and  assistant  we  visited  a  number  of  coniiguous  vil- 
lages, holding  night  conferences,  at  which  the  whole 
population  of  the  village  would  lie  present.  Every- 
where a  wonderfully  ready  respon.se  was  given  to  the 
Gospel.  They,  too,  were  oppressed  by  the  dread  of 
spirits,  and  welcomed  deliverance  from  their  bondage. 
They  would  aci«>pl  the  Gospel,  but,  naturally,  referred 
us  on  to  the  Via. 

To  his  village  at  last  we  went.  He  was  a  venerabte 
man  near  seventy,  and  though  for  years  hopelessly 
crippled  by  paralysis  of  the  lower  limbs,  his  bright 
mind  and  business  talents  had  raised  him  to  his  pres 


404  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


put  posit iuu,  aud  given  him  u  commanding  intiiienee.  I 
shall  never  foi^t  our  first  interview.  He  had  heard 
the  rumour  Hint  tmr  rclijiion  could  overcoiiio  the  spirits 
and  Buve  from  sin.  Crawling  painfully  on  his  hands  to 
meet  us,  he  welcomed  us  to  his  village  and  hiH  people. 
He  had  heard  of  the  JesuH-religion,  and  wished  to 
embrace  it.  Since  he  was  old,  he  must  do  it  soon. 
This  was  <»u  Friday  afternoon.  Ity  Saturday  night 
every  family  in  the  place  had  made  the  same  decision, 
and  woidd  begin  by  keeping  their  tirst  Salihath  next 
(lav.  Our  elders  entered  with  lieart  and  soul  into 
teaching  thei.i.  The  young  fctlks  s(»ou  learned  a  verse 
or  two  of  "  The  Happy  Land,"  and  some  a  verse  or  two 
in  the  Catechism.  Next  morning,  before  I  was  dressed, 
(dd  and  young  of  b<»th  sexes  were  gathering  to  learn 
how  to  keep  the  Sabbath.  Tt  was  a  great  day.  just  the 
like  of  which  I  liad  never  seen.  It  settled  the  deci- 
sion of  hundreds,  possibly  of  thousands,  of  jteople. 

Still,  everytliing  depended  ujjon  the  French  author- 
ities.  They  could  forbid  our  teaching,  as,  in  fact,  tbej 
afterward-  did.  Hut  up  to  this  point  I  could  not  be- 
lieve that  they  would.  A  prompt  an<l  candid  inter- 
view seemed  all  that  would  be  necessary  to  settle  that 
matter,  and  make  the  Kamns  feel  safe.  If  such  an 
o|»ening  were  found,  I  had  detcrruined  to  reuuiin  with 
them  throughout  the  season.  Hut  in  that  ease  my 
family  and  the  mission  must  be  informed.  More  medi- 
cine and  books  and  some  comforts  would  l>e  reijuired  to 
carry  me  through.  It  was,  therefore,  decided  to  move 
on  a  day's  journey  to  Mfiang  La,  a  convenient  point, 
leave  there  two  elders  to  instruct  the  people,  and  Bcaad 
back  three  carrirrs  to  (Miiengmai  for  the  needed  sup- 
plies and  another  elder;  while  I  went  «»n  overland  to 
Mt^ung  Kwa,  aud  there  took  boat  down  the  C  Uiver. 


THE  CLOSED  DOOR  405 

Tile  iiiojiitaiu  sicnory  along  this  river  is  very  beauti- 
ful, especially  so  near  Its  jnnctioo  with  the  M«  K8ng. 
We  reacbfHl  Lfiaiif,'  Pialian};  on  Monday,  May  9tb,  and 
tailed  at  once  on  M.  Grant,  wbo  was  so  kind  to  m  Jlie 
year  before.  He  gave  me  a  greeting  as  warm  as  ever. 
The  king  was  having  an  interview  with  M.  Loce  that 
•  lay,  so  I  coiiKi  not  see  hini  till  Tnesday.  I  d!ne<l  thai 
night  with  M.  tJrant,  he  himself  coming  at  dusk  to 
walk  over  with  me.  We  had  a  delightful  evening. 
TlitMc  liad  hccn  a  regular  exodus  of  Kamits  that  year  to 
^'hiengmai  and  other  souflHTii  provinces.  M.  (Iraut 
asked  if  I  had  heard  any  reason  assigned  for  it.  1  t«)ld 
him  that  T  had  heard  of  three— the  deamess  of  rice, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  the  last  crup;  the  exhaustion 
of  the  mountain  lands,  and  the  lack  of  remunerative 
employment  by  which  they  could  earn  the  money  re 
quired  to  pay  their  taxes. 

On  Tuesday  afternoon  the  Commandant  Sup^rieur 
sent  his  secretary  to  invite  me  to  an  interview,  ile, 
too,  gave  me  a  cordial  greeting.  He  had  received  my 
passport  together  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
the  Consul  Odn^ral  in  Mangkok.  I  had  also  a  kind 
personal  letter  from  our  United  States  Minister,  Mr. 
John  Barrett.  He  had  used  his  personal  influence,  and 
a><suif'(l  me  that  if  would  all  Ik;  right.  .My  interview 
was  very  plea.sant.  M.  Luce  enquii-ed  abcjul  our  mis 
sion  work,  the  namber  of  our  converts,  and  other  sim- 
ilar matters.  He  then  ref«  iit'd  to  the  large  emigra- 
tion of  Ramus;  aske.l  if  I  had  heard  of  any  reason  for 
it,  and  bow  many  of  our  three  thousand  converts  were 
Kamas.  He  was  much  surprised  to  learn  that  the 
converts  were  almost  entirely  I.ao,  with  not  a  half 
doisen  Kamus  among  them.  Putting  his  anxiety  about 
the  emigration  and  our  work  among  these  people  to- 


406  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


gether,  it  wemed  to  me  later  that  be  must  have 

tbouf^lit  tht'  tiKivcnicnt  a  rolifjious  nno. 

When,  at  last,  1  stated  luy  spt'!.-iul  errand  tu  the 
city,  naiiH  ;.v,  that  a  number  of  villages  in  his  province 
were  interested  in  onr  relijiiou,  that  I  wislietl  to  teach 
them  fnrtlitr,  ami  that,  simc  tliey  weiv  Krondi  sub- 
jeets,  I  (houylil  it  jiruiter  tti  inform  him  and  secure  his 
sanction,  he  thanked  me  for  doing  ho,  but  his  man- 
ner at  once  changed.  He  said  he  should  have  to  con- 
sult the  kin^'  aliout  that;  the  niountaia  i»e«»ple  were 
hard  to  iiach  ;  the  country  was  unliealthy;  the  Catholic 
niigftionarief*  in  the  sooth  were  living,  or  bad  left ;  the 
kin<;  would  fear  that  flio  Kaiiiii';  miuhl  liecnuie  disloyal 
to  him  if  they  became  Christians.  To  tins  I  replied 
that  the  native  officials  had  uniformly  granted  us  per- 
mission to  teach  among  their  subjects;  that  they 
i-eaiizcd  that  it  was  a  lieiietit  to  their  country,  and 
even  gave  us  their  a.ssislame;  and  that  it  was  the  fixed 
policy  of  oar  miminn  to  teach  Christians  loyalty  to 
their  rulers.  M.  l.mv  sai<l  he  woiild  consult  with  the 
king,  and  would  let  me  know  the  decision.  I  expressed 
my  wish  to  pay  my  resjiects  to  the  king,  which  he  said 
was  a  very  proper  thing,  and,  on  my  leaving,  he  gave  me 
a  cordial  inviialiim  to  dine  with  him  that  night. 

>.'ext  day,  through  M.  CJraut,  1  secured  a  very  pleas- 
ant intervfew  with  the  king.  My  long  residence  in  the 
.uiintry  and  acquaintance  with  both  Siamese  and  LSo 
otlit  ials,  gave  us  much  common  ground  for  conversa- 
tion, lie  was  pleased  that  1  had  known  their 
Majesties,  the  present  King  of  Hiam  and  his  father,  his 
fr)riiier  liejielords.  (^uife  in  line  with  native  ideas, 
he  thought  i  must  Im  a  man  of  great  nierit  to  be  so 
old  imd  y^  so  strong.  I  explained  at  his  request  the 
teaching  ef  onr  religion,  pointing  out  some  of  its  dis- 


THE  CLOSED  DOOR  407 

tinctive  differencefl  from  Buddhism,  in  all  of  which 
things  he  was  interested.   He  said  that  it  was  all  very 

good,  but  ho  was  born  and  reared  in  the  Huddhist  wor- 
ship, and  was  too  old  to  change.  Gradually  introduc- 
ing my  errand,  I  told  him  of  my  interest  in  the  Kamns, 
and  (if  their  desire  to  become  Christians;  that  I  had 
come  down  to  get  permission  to  work  among  them. 
We  taught  them  a  better  morality,  of  which  loyalty  to 
rulers  was  a  fundamental  article,  mjoined  by  Jesus  on 
His  discipU's.  Ho  raised  the  objection  that  (he  Kamus 
were  ignorant,  una  we  would  tind  them  harder  to  teach 
than  the  Lfto.  To  this  I  replied  that  these  villagers 
had  become  l)elievers,  and  I  was  going  to  spend  sereral 
monrbs  in  teaching  them.  He  asked  if  I  did  not  think 
I  was  running  g.eat  risk  in  living  so  long  in  the  forest, 
and  so  far  away  from  home  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  am 
used  to  life  in  the  forest  and  jungle,  and  you  can  see 
for  yourself  how  1  have  fai-ed."  At  which  he  smiled, 
and  made  no  further  objection.  1  left  with  the  firm 
conviction  that  if  M.  Luce  were  not  unwilling,  there 
Wdtild  Ih)  no  difliculty  with  him. 

While  at  dinner  that  night,  I  informed  M.  Luce  of 
my  pleasant  audience  with  the  king;  how  I  told  him  my 
plans,  and  be  had  virtually  given  his  consent.  "Is 
that  so?  "  said  he.  "  I  must  see  the  king  myself  about 
that."  And  as  I  took  my  leave,  he  said  again,  "  I  will 
«ee  the  king  to-morrow,  and  will  let  you  know  the 
result." 

The  next  afternoon,  Thursday,  M.  I.uce  had  a  long 
interview  at  the  Prince's  residence.  On  Friday  after- 
noon I  called  on  M.  Grant  on  my  way  to  the  Com- 
mandant's oflice.  He  told  me  that  M.  l.u.'c  wished  to 
see  me,  but  had  instructed  him  to  notify  me  that  the 
king  did  not  understand  that  I  was  to  si)end  several 


408  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


months  among  the  Kamns — thongh  he  certainly  did, 

or  why  sh«)uld  he  have  raised  the  question  of  my 
healtli?  1  n-iiiinded  M.  (Irant  that  my  passport  was 
not  to  the  king,  but  to  the  French  authorities.  All 
the  world  recognired  the  country  as  French  territory. 
It  would  have  been  considered  a  discourtesy  to  tlie 
French  if  the  representative  of  the  United  States  had 
sent  a  letter  tu  the  king  as  such.  He  admitted 
that  in  a  limited  sense  this  was  true ;  but  tliey  did  not 
treat  the  king  as  a  compiered  vassal.  Cochin  China 
had  fought  the  French,  and  had  been  comjuered  and 
annexed.  But  Liiang  Prabfing  had  put  itself  under 
llu'ir  protection  without  firing  a  gun.  M.  Grant  de- 
livered his  uipssaj^e  with  as  much  consideration  toward 
my  disappointment  as  was  consistent  with  loyalty  to 
his  superior.  But  my  disappointment  I  could  not 
concoa!. 

M.  Luce,  1  was  informed,  was  very  busy  that  day, 
but  would  be  glad  to  see  me  on  Saturday  afternoon. 
The  decision,  however,  was  irreversible.  Further 
prossHit'  would  be  useless,  and  mif?ht  he  unwise,  in 
that  case,  I  said,  of  course  1  must  submit.  I  had 
shown  i»ropcr  respect  for  the  ruling  authority,  and  my 
own  desire  to  avoid  future  mi.sunderstandin{j,  by  iiiak 
infj;  t!ic  long  iiud  costly  journey  to  Luang  rrabang. 
.My  errand  was  now  ended.  1  would  take  my  leave 
at  once,  and  return  next  morning. 

Tills  Ix  int;  icjiorted  to  M.  Luce,  lie  sent  wf)rd  that 
lie  must  .see  me  bi'lui-e  1  left.  1  might  come  immedi- 
ately. Personally,  again,  he  was  very  kind,  but  made 
a  studied  effort  to  put  the  responsibility  upon  the 
king,  whii.  ;i>^  ln'  s;>id,  had  not  understood  that  I 
wished  to  make  a  long  slay  among  the  Kiimus,  which 
he  thought  was  unsafe  for  me.  Of  conn^,  I  had  no 


THE  CLOSED  DOOB 


409 


complaint  to  make  of  the  king,  who  had  been  most 
Rra(i<,ns.  I  submitted  to  their  decision,  and  would 
return  home.  But  my  arrangprnents  required  my  re- 
turn to  the  Kamu  villages,  where  I  had  left  my  "men 
and  my  goods,  sv.ul  would  be  detained  there  till  my 
messengers  sii,.u!d  return  from  ChienRmai -which,  he 
said,  was  all  right  Since  the  i-espoiisibilK v  had  lK.en 
put  on  the  king,  and  the  adverse  decision  had  been 
based  sol.  l.v  on  thc^  danger  to  my  personal  health  and 
safety,  1  thought  if  unwise  to  raise  the  question  of 
native  aBsistanis,  and  so  felt  free  to  leave  these  on 
the  ground  to  teach  the  new  believers,  as,  indeed,  I 
felt  under  obligation  to  do. 

Thanking  M.  Luce  for  all  his  personal  kindness,  I 
begged  to  take  my  leave  of  him  then,  so  that  I  might 
start  on  my  return  the  next  morning.    But  he  evi- 
dently was  n(.t  satisfied  with  his  t.wn  part  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  wished  to  make  some  i>ersonal  amends  to 
soothe  my  disappointmoit.   He  hoped  I  would  not 
leave  in  the  morning,  but  would  remain  till  Monday, 
and  give  him  the  pleasure  of  a  dinner  with  me  and  m! 
Giant  on  Sunday  night.    1  hoped  he  would  still  ex^ 
cuse  me,  since,  if  I  remained,  that  would  be  our  time 
for  puhli.'  w(.rship.    "Then."  ^;iid  be.  "  ac  shall  be 
pleased  to  have  you  on  Satnniay  night;  and  if  you 
are  not  ready  now  to  give  an  affirmative  reply,  I  hope 
you  will  so  arrange  it  as  to  notify  my  secretary  in  the 
morning."    Notwilhsfandiug   bis   evident  disiagenu- 
ousnesH  in  trying  to  shift  the  respounibility  for  liis 
own  acts  to  another,  there  was  no  reason  for  making 
i(  i>.  personal  matter;  and  it  would  be  impolitic  to  leave 
apparently  angry.    So  I  do.id.Hl  to  remain  tin  Mon- 
day, and  accepted  the  invitatirm  for  Saturday  night. 
I  feared  there  would  be  great  constraint  on  both 


4lO  AMONO  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

sides  at  the  diuuer;  but  in  this  I  was  agreeably  dis- 
appointed. That  very  day  a  long  telegram  bad  ar- 
rived, reporting  the  declarntion  of  war  with  Spain, 
and  the  particulars  of  the  great  naval  victory  of 
Manila  Bay.  On  my  arrival  at  his  house.  M.  Lnre 
handed  me  a  full  translation  of  these  into  i:iiKli«h. 
which  he  had  had  made  for  me.  They  weie  much  sur- 
prised at  the  victory,  f«)r  they  thought  the  Spanish 
navy  ranch  larger  and  stronger  than  ours;  and  they 
were  high  in  their  praise  of  the  victors.  We  really 
had  a  delightful  time.  After  dinner  our  host  and  M. 
(J rant  both  laid  themselves  out  to  show  me  beautiful 
maps  and  pictures.  M.  Luce  invited  me  tt>  call  on 
Monday  morning,  and  he  would  si-iid  a  long  telegram 
to  my  wife  without  charge.  This  he  did,  and  we  all 
parted  friends.  The  departure  on  the  16th,  my  sev- 
entieth birthday,  was  not  as  jc.yful  as  1  had  lio]"'d. 

On  my  retinii  to  ^lining  Sal,  1  fouud  that  my  car- 
riers had  been  delayed  by  sore  feet  and  sickness.  I 
could  not  leave  till  they  came,  for  fear  of  missing 
them  and  causing  further  toiiiplications.  So  my  long 
trip  home  was  thrown  into  the  middle  of  a  very  rainy 
season.  1  had  to  apologize  as  best  I  could  to  the  new 
converts  for  the  cl»ange  in  my  plan  to  irnuiiu  with 
tlu  ni.  \W  ih»  y  were  glad  to  have  our  elders  stay  and 
i.  a.  Ii  them.  If  that  shady  tree  on  the  little  hill  at 
.Muaug  Sai  could  speak,  it  would  tell  of  much  anxious 
prayer  on  leaving  the  Christiai  s  and  starting  on  the 
lujig  j(mmey  before  me.  My  Ebeneaer  was  left  on  that 
tree. 

That  journey  was  altogether  the  worst  I  ever  had. 

I  did  not  reach  home  till  August  Ctli,  after  the  longest 
t..ur  1  Iiad  .  ver  takeu.  M.  Luce's  telegram  had  pre- 
pared my  family  and  friends  for  my  changed  plans. 


THE  CLOSED  DOOR 


411 


A  few  lines  mast  close  the  history  of  the  work 

niuonK  the  Kiimus.    In  December  the  three  evangelisti 
returned  with  a  most  enfouruKiug  report.    The  con- 
verts had  remained  tirm,  and  others  wcit:  waiting  to 
join  them.  The  next  season  a  native  minister  was 
sent  to  tlicm.    In  ]!Hi;{  tlie  mission  ventiuvd  to  send 
two  of  our  younger  men,  Dr.  Campell  and  Mr.  Mai  kay. 
to  Mfiang  Hai,  to  visit  the  Christians,  and  respond  to  a 
pressing  call  to  extend  the  work.   Imagine  their  sur- 
|)nse  on  reaching  Mflang  Sai  to  tlnd  that  the  h»cul 
commissiouei-  imd  received  orders  to  forbid  our  mis- 
sionaries to  visit  the  Christian  commnnit.v.  or  to  hold 
any  relifilims  service  with  them,  on  |K'ii:ilt.v  of  being 
conducted  out  of  the  country,  in  force  i«"  necessary. 
The  command  was  so  imperative  that  tlie  Commis- 
sioner dared  not  disobey.   He  begged  them  for  his  sake 
(u  rcfmn  [»eaceahly.    \o  eflFort  has  been  made  since 
to  reach  the  Christians  at  Mdang  Sai,  or  to  extend 
the  work. 

It  will  l>e  remembered  that  a  few  members  of  the 
Chienfi  Sj'u  chincli— never  more  than  half  a  dozen 
families-  lived  on  the  east  banli  of  the  Kong,  in 
French  territory.  So  objectionable  was  the  very  pres- 
ence of  a  mission. iry  jiakiiifj  a  few  days'  visit  among 
his  dock,  that  it  was  regarded  of  sutlicient  imjioriance 
to  warrant  an  official  protest  from  the  aulliorities  at 
Liian^'  I'rjihnn};.  seii*  through  the  Governor  General 
of  Hanoi,  and  llie  i'uited  States  Minister  at  Bangkok. 

Complaint  was  made  of  a  visit  made  by  the  Rev  , 

who  had  exhibited  Scripture  pictures  and  distributed 
hooks  amon^i  the  people  whicli  was  so  contrary  to 
their  policy  that  they  forbade  the  Koiiian  Catholic 
missionaries  from  working  in  their  territory.  They 
begged  that  the  thing  be  not  repeated  I   For  the  credit 


41 J  AM()N«J  lili:  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

of  the  Fi(  uch  utillmrif  ieH  I  mIiuuIiI  liave  been  glad  to 
Bopprewi  the  latter  part  of  tbia  atory.  But,  on  the 
otluT  tiiind,  1  tbiuk  it  sh(.\i  M  1k>  kr  .wn,  in  order  that 
it  niiiy  bf.onit'  a  l.tinlen  «»u  the  pru.vera  of  the  Cbria- 
tiau  world  of  uH  dentnuinationa,  that  God's  ^fldrace 
may  opoi  the  whole  penionrift  of  Indo^hlaa  to  the 
preaching  of  the  QoapeU 


XXXV 


CONCLUHION 

MY  advaaeiiig  aRe  rantesti  the  wiadom  of  not 
attempting  fr»  (ontinue  this  fiersnnal  nar- 
rative Ijeyctnd  tlie  account  ju8t  givea  of  inv 
last  long  misaionary  tour.  I  may  venture  to  add, 
however,  by  way  of  cooelnaioii,  a  few  fraggefitiim  and 
.TiticiHms  corKfrninR  the  work  of  onr  mission  as  a 
whole,  and  brietly  notice  a  few  of  the  more  iun»ortant 
peraonaiitiea  and  erents  of  tfaMe  later  yeara. 

Special  prominence  huN  been  given  througkoot  to 
the  evangelistic  work,  m  being  the  foundation  of  all 
other  missionary  work.  A  Christian  Church  and  a 
Chriatian  conatitaeney  nraat  be  tb«  flmt  aim  in  all  mla- 
Hions.  In  this  we  have  not  been  unsuccessful.  Our 
ideals,  it  is  true,  have  not  been  realized.  W  have 
not  witneaaed  among  the  Riamese  or  the  LSo  any  racial 
movement  towards  Christianity;  nor  have  there  been 
any  great  revivals  resulting.'  in  largo  accessions  t«  the 
cborch.  Both  of  these  we  hope  for  in  the  not  far 
distant  fntnre.  Yet  tbe  uniform,  bealthfal  growth  of 
the  church,  as  distingniabed  frotn  spasmodic  or  spo- 
radic  increase,  has  been  most  gratifying.  Seldom  docs 
a  week  pass  without  accessions  to  some  of  our 
cbnrchea. 

An  adult  membership  of  four  thousand  is  a  good 
foundation.  And  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the 
roll  of  cbnrch-memberahip  ia  a  very  inadequate  index 

41S 


414  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


of  the  real  influence  and  power  of  a  mission.  In  addi- 
tion to  a  mnch  lar}?er  constituency  of  adherents,  there 
is  our  large  roll  of  non-communing  members,  the  hope 
of  the  future  church.  And  signs  of  most  hopeful 
promise  have  appeared  within  the  present  year.  The 
growth  of  the  Chieng  Kai  church  during  that  time  has 
been  surpassed  only  by  the  results  of  Dr.  Campbell's 
recent  tours,  amounting  to  eighty  accessions  within  a 
few  weeks.  The  supporters  of  our  missions  have  every 
cjiuse  for  gratitude,  and  a  call  for  earnest,  effectual 
prayer  in  their  behalf. 

A  review  of  our  evangelistic  work  suggests  one  or 
two  criticisms.  On  one  line  at  least,  with  a  smaller 
amount  of  hard  work  done  by  the  missionary  himself, 
we  might  have  accomplished  more,  might  now  be  better 
prepared  for  advanced  work,  and  the  native  church 
might  be  better  able  to  stand  alone,  if  we  had  ad- 
dressed our  efforts  more  steadily  to  the  development 
and  use  of  native  assistance.  While  we  have  not  had 
the  material  of  well  educated  young  men  out  of  which 
to  form  a  theological  seminary  and  to  furnish  a  fully 
equipped  native  ministry,  we  have  not  used,  to  the 
extent  to  which  we  should  have  used  it,  the  material 
which  was  available.  For  a  mission  as  old  as  ours,  we 
must  confess  that  in  this  most  important  matter  we 
are  very  backward. 

Th^  delay  in  starting  our  school  for  boys  was  not 
our  fault;  it  was  inevitable.  The  Lao  rulers  of  the 
earlier  years  were  absolutely  indifferent  to  all  educa- 
tion, and  were  positively  jealous  of  any  that  was  given 
by  the  mission.  But  as  the  church  began  to  increase, 
we  had  accessions  of  men  trained  in  the  Buddhist 
priesthood.  Some  of  these  were  among  the  best  edu- 
cated men  in  the  country.  They  understood— as 


CONCLUSION 


415 


young  men  even  from  mission  schools  could  not  be 
expected  to  understand — the  religion,  the  modes  of 
thought,  the  needs  of  their  own  people,  and  how  to 
reach  them.  Their  education,  however  deficient, 
brought  them  many  comi)ensations.  They  form  the 
class  from  which  nearly  all  of  our  evangelists  have 
been  drawn.  When  such  men  have  been  drilled  in 
the  Scriptures,  their  Buddhistic  knowledge  malies  them 
the  very  best  men  for  successful  work  among  their 
countrymen.  They  visit  and  sleep  in  the  homes  of 
their  people,  and  are  one  with  ihem.  The  missionary 
in  his  work  mnst  rely  largely  on  thdr  jndgm^t  and 
advice. 

It  mnst  not  be  understood  that  we  have  not  taught 
these  men  or  u^d  them.  A  great  deal  of  labour  has 
been  spent  in  training  them;  very  much  in  the  same 
way  in  which  in  American  churches,  a  generation  ago, 
busy  pastors  trained  up  young  men  to  be  some  of  our 
best  ministers.  The  criticism  I  make — and  in  it  I 
believe  all  my  colleagues  will  concur — is  that  we  have 
not  made  as  much  of  them  as  we  should  have  done. 
No  doubt  there  have  been  diflSculties  in  the  way.  Their 
families  must  somehow  be  provided  for  during  the 
process.  The  native  churches  were  not  strong  enough 
to  undertake  their  support.  We  were  warned  that  to 
aid  them  with  foreign  funds  would  make  the  churches 
mercenary.  What  the  missionary  himself  sometimes 
did  to  eke  out  their  subsistence  was  irregular  and 
difficult,  and  often  unsatisfactory.  But  the  labourer 
is  worthy  of  his  hire.  Hungry  mouths  must  be  fed. 
The  Board  and  the  churches  at  home  do  not  begrudge 
a  thousand  dollars  or  more  to  support  a  missionary  in 
the  fidd.  Should  they  begrudge  the  same  amount 
spent  up<MD  half  a  dozen  men  who  will  treble  or 


416  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

quadruple  the  missionary's  work  and  his  intluencp? 
In  any  business  it  is  poor  policy  to  employ  a  high- 
salaried  foreman,  and  then  not  furnish  him  cheaper 
men  to  do  that  which  unskilled  labour  can  accomplish 
better  than  he. 

In  this  matter,  as  in  some  others,  we  might  have 
learned  valuable  lessons  from  our  nearest  missionary 
neighbours  in  Burma,  even  though  the  conditions  of 
our  work  have  been  in  many  resjtects  vtiv  different 
from  theirs.  Maliing  all  allowance  for  our  condi- 
tiona,  I  frankly  confess  that  our  greatest  mistake  has 
probably  been  in  doing  too  much  of  the  work  our- 
selves, instead  of  training  others  to  do  it,  and  work- 
ing through  them.  This  conviction,  however,  must  not 
in  the  least  lead  us  to  relax  our  efforts  in  the  line 
of  general  education.  For  the  ultimate  establishment 
of  the  church,  and  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  age, 
we  must  have  workmen  thoroughly  equipped.  Till 
that  time  comes,  we  must,  as  we  should  more  fully 
have  done  hitherto,  rely  on  whatever  good  working 
material  we  find  ready  to  hand. 

With  regard  to  plans  and  methods  of  work,  an- 
other thought  suggests  itself.  In  a  business  organized 
as  ours  is,  where  the  majority  in  the  Annual  Meet- 
ing has  absolute  power,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  ap- 
pearance—and sometimes  the  reality— of  a  vacillating 
policy.  New  stations  are  established,  and  mission- 
aries are  located  by  the  ballot  of  the  mission  there 
assembled.  From  year  to  year  the  personnel  of  the 
mission  is  constantly  changing  by  reason  of  furloughs, 
breakdown  of  health,  and  necessary  removals.  We 
make  our  disposition  of  forces  at  one  meeting,  and  at 
the  next  an  entirely  new  disposition  has  become  neces- 


CONCLUSION 


417 


sary.  A  family  has  been  left  alone  without  a  physi- 
dan  or  associate.  Missionary  enthusiaHm,  or  an 
earnest  minority  interested  in  a  particular  field  or  a 
particular  cause,  may  initiate  a  policy  which  a  rob- 
sequent  majority  may  be  unable  to  sanction,  or  which 
it  may  be  found  difficult  or  impossible  to  carry  out. 

Again,  as  between  the  policy  of  maintaining  one 
strong  central  station,  and  that  of  maintaining  sev- 
eral smaller  ones  in  difl'eient  |>arts  of  the  country,  it 
is  often  difficult  to  decide.    With  the  aim  originally 
of  establishing  the  Gospel  in  all  the  states  under 
Siamese  rule,  we  seem  to  have  been  led  to  adopt  the 
latter  policy.   Through  God's  blessing  on  evangelistic 
tours,  in  Lampun  and  in  the  frontier  provinces  of 
the  north,  there  grew  up  churches  which  called  for 
missionary  oversight.    The  famine  in  Pr6  summoned 
U£  thither;  and  to  secure  the  worlt  then  done,  a  mis- 
sionary in  residmce  was  needed.   Though  no  church 
had  been  formed  in  Kan,  yet  our  tours  had  opened 
the  way  to  one,  and  the  importance  of  the  province 
anu  its  distance  from  our  centre  demanded  a  station. 
In  every  case  these  stations  were  opened  with  the  cor- 
dial approval  of  the  mission  and  of  the  Board  at 
home.   Yet  it  has  been  difficult  to  keep  them  all 
manned,  as  has  been  specially  true  in  the  case  of  Pr6 
— and  there  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  work.  It 
is  easy  to  say  now  that  a  strong  central  policy  might 
have  been  better.   And  that  criticism  would  prob- 
ably hit  me  harder  than  anyone  else,  for  I  have  sanc- 
tioned the  establishment  of  every  me  of  those  sta- 
tioiis.    It  is  possible  that  a  more  centralized  organi- 
zation might  have  accomplished  more  toward  the  edu- 
cation of  native  workers — ^the  point  last  under  dis- 
cossion. 


418  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LkO 


With  reference  to  the  establishment  of  stations  in 

the  north  beyond  the  frontier  of  Siam,  there  wa.«  not 
until  recently  absolute  unanimity  in  the  mission.  But 
that  was  not  from  any  diversity  of  opinion  as  re- 
gards the  (juestion  iu  itself,  but  because  a  sister  de- 
noniinaliou  had  established  itself  there.  There  lias 
never  been  reasonable  ground  for  doubt  that  the  lau 
guage  and  race  of  the  ruling  class,  and  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  plains  would  naturally  assign  them  to 
the  Lflo  mission.  Aud  no  other  mission  is  s.'  well 
equipped  for  working  that  field.  A  Lflo  Inland  Mis- 
sion, somewhat  on  the  plan  of  the  China  Inland  Mis 
sion,  would  be  an  ideal  scheuit  for  i-eaohing  the  whole 
of  the  Tai-speaking  peoples  of  the  north  and  northeast 
under  English  and  French  and  Chinese  rule.  The 
obligation  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  those  peoples  should 
rest  heavily  on  the  consrienee  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  on  our  Church  in  particular.  Who  will  volun- 
teer to  be  the  leaders? 

It  has  already  been  noticed  that  in  our  educational 
work  the  Girls'  School  had  the  precedence  in  time,  and 
possibly  in  importance.  Boys  did  at  least  learn  to 
read  and  write  in  the  monasteries.  At  the  time  of 
our  arrival  in  Chiengmai,  only  two  women  in  the 
province  could  read.  The  Chiengmai  Girls'  School 
has  had  a  wide  educational  influence  ihroughont  the 
north,  and  to-day  our  Girls'  Schools  have  practically 
no  com[)etitors. 

The  Phraner  Memorial  School  for  small  children, 
in  connection  with  the  Firet  Church,  Chiengmai,  un- 
der Mrs.  Campbell's  dii.  ction,  is  preparing  material 
both  for  High  Schools  and  for  the  College.  We  have 
good  schools  for  girls  in  Lakawn,  NSn,  and  Chieng 
B&i;  and  parochial  mixed  schools  in  most  of  our 


CONCLUSION  419 

country  chnrches  and  ont-stations.  The  young  womoi 
who  have  been  engaged  in  this  department,  and  many 

self-saciiUcmg  married  women,  have  great  reason  to 
rejoice  over  the  work  accomplished.  Xo  greater  work 
can  be  done  than  that  of  educating  the  wives  and 
mothers  of  the  churdi  and  fhe  land.  I>:diHated  Chris- 
tian men  are  greatly  handicapped  when  consorted 
with  illiterate  and  superstitious  wives.  Without  a 
Christian  wife  and  mother  there  can  be  no  Christian 
family,  the  fciindation  both  of  the  church  and  of 
the  Christian  State. 

On  a  recent  visit  to  Chiengmai,  Princess  Darft  Rat- 
sami— one  of  the  wivrs  «,f  His  late  Majesty  of  Siam, 
and  daughter  of  Prince  Intauoii  of  r'hienfjmai  and  his 
wife,  the  Princess  Tipakesawn,  often  mentioned  in  the 
Iirecoding  narrative— was  much  interested  in  the  Girls' 
Sehodl,  and  was  pleased  to  name  it  the  Phra  Rjij- 
chayar  School,  after  herself— using  therefor  her  title, 
and  not  her  personal  name. 

The  mi.ssion  had  been  founded  twenty  years  before 
it  had,  and  almost  before  it  could  have  had,  a  School 
for  Boys.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  mission  to  make 
of  this  school— the  Prince  Royal  Colleg&-the  future 
Christian  College.  Similar  schools  have  been  estab- 
lishad  in  the  other  stations. 

Since  the  Siamese  government  assumed  control  in 
the  North,  it  has  manifested  a  laudable  aeal  in  estab- 
lishing schools,  in  which,  howeve  r,  the  Siamese  lan- 
guage alone  is  taught.  His  Majesty  is  most  fortunate 
m  having  such  an  able  and  progressive  representative 
in  the  North  as  the  present  High  Commissioner,  Chow 
Praya  Surasih  Visithasakdi.  And  the  country  is  no 
less  fortunate  in  having  a  ruler  whose  high  personal 
character  and  wise  administration  command  the  con 


420  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 


fldencc  a^d  rt'spect  of  all  rlassos.  He  is  intcrcstrd 
ii  (>dn;i.liu}j  tlif  people,  and  in  everything  that  ad- 
vances the  interests  of  the  country. 

I  regard  the  educa^'onal  question  as  the  great  ques- 
tion now  iK'foro  the  inissicm.  The  existeure  of  the 
Siamese  schools  greatly  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  our  own  work,  and  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a 
high  standard  and  a  stronfj  teaching  force  in  Siamese, 
Euglish,  mathematics,  and  the  sciences.  Their  schools 
then  will  be  tributary  to  ours. 

The  ultimate  prevalence  of  the  Sian^se  language 
in  all  the  provinces  under  Siamese  rule,  has  been  in- 
evitable from  the  start.  All  f,'()vernments  realize  the 
ortance  of  a  uniform  language  in  unifying  a  peo- 
ple, and  have  no  interest  whatever  in  perpetuating  a 
provincial  <lialect.  The  Siamese,  in  fact,  look  down 
with  a  kind  of  disdain  upon  the  Lao  speech,  and  use 
it  only  as  a  temporary  necessity  during  the  period  of 
transition.  And  the  Siamese  is  really  the  richer  of 
the  two  by  reason  of  itt  large  borrowing  'rom  the 
Pal'.,  the  better  scholarship  behind  it,  and  its  closer 
connection  with  the  o'  "Hd. 

These  two  forms  of  ■  ^»oech — with  a  common 

idiom,  and  with  the  ^  '.-jdy  of  words  in  both 
identical,  or  differing  only  in  vocal  inflection — have 
been  kept  apart  chiefly  by  the  fact  that  they  have  dif- 
ferent written  characters.  All  of  the  Lao  women  and 
children,  and  two-thirds  of  the  men  had  to  be  taught 
to  read,  whichever  character  were  adopted;  and  they 
could  have  learned  the  one  form  quite  as  easily  as  the 
other.  Had  the  mission  adopted  *he  Siamese  char- 
acter from  the  start,  it  would  now  be  master  of  the 
educational  situation,  working  on  a  uniform  scheme 
with  the  Siamese  Educational  Department.  More- 


E 


f 


CONCLUSION 


421 


over,  the  Simiioso  lanKiiiiKC  In  our  scliools  would  have 
been  a  distiud  atfr-clion  tdwiinl  ediicafion  and 
toward  Cbiistiauity.  And  thus  there  would  have 
been  available  for  the  North  the  laboara  of  two  or 
more  generations  of  able  workers  in  the  southern 
niission,  from  which  so  far  the  Lao  chunh  has  been 
mostly  cut  off.  The  whole  liible  would  have  been  ac- 
cessible from  the  flnt;  whereas  now  nearly  half  of  it 
remains  still  untranslated  into  the  Lao.  If  the  future 
needs  of  the  Hianiese  provinces  alone  were  to  be  con- 
sidered, it  might  even  be  doubted  whether  it  were 
worth  while  to  complete  the  translation.  When  the 
monks,   in   their  studies  teadiiuf?,   adopt  the 

Siamese,  as  it  is  n(»w  the  intention  of  the  government 
>  have  them  do,  Lao  books  will  soon  be  without  read- 
e.  1  throughout  Siam.  When  for  the  young  a  choice 
is  iKWaible  in  the  matter  of  such  a  transcendent  instru 
ment  of  thought  and  culture  as  language,  all  surely 
would  wish  their  training  to  be  in  that  one  which  has 
in  it  the  promise  of  the  future.  These  words  are 
written  in  no  idle  criticism  of  the  past,  and  in  no 
captious  spirit  regarding  the  present;  but  with  full 
sense  of  the  gravity  of  the  decision  which  confronts 
the  mission  in  shaping  its  educational  policy  for  those 
who  henceforth  are  to  be  Siamese. 

Meanwhile,  Lfio  type  and  books  in  the  LJlo  dialect 
are  needed,  not  merely  for  the  present  generation  of 
older  people  who  cannot  or  will  not  learn  a  new  char- 
acter, but  also  for  the  instruction  and  Christianization 
of  that  much  lai^r  mass  of  Lfto  folk  beyond  the 
frontier  of  Siam  as  revealed  by  recent  explorations. 
Removed,  as  these  are,  entirely  from  the  political  and 
cultural  influence  of  Siam,  and  divided  up  under  the 
jnrisdiction  of      ee  great  nations  of  diverse  and 


422  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAo 

alien  speech,  it  ia  inconcelrable  tl.al  the  siaimso 
should  ever  win  the  aarendency  over  tliem.  Nor  has 
pither  <.f  these  nations  any  inunediate  and  pressing 
incentive  toward  unify  ins  the  upeech  of  itii  prorindals, 
RQch  88  hag  actuated  Siam  in  this  matter.  If  tlie 
field  of  thf'  T.ao  mission  is  to  be  extended  to  include 
these  "  regions  beyond  "—as  we  all  hope  that  it  soon 
may  be— Lflo  speech  will  inevitably  be  the  medium  of 
all  its  worli  theiv.  Then  all  tiial  so  far  luis  been  ac- 
coiiiplislu'd  in  tiie  way  of  translation,  writing,  and 
printing  in  the  Lao  tongue,  will  be  so  much  Invaluable 
capital  to  be  turned  over  to  the  newei  intentrise. 

As  regards  tiie  medical  department  of  the  mission, 
the  T.ao"lield  has  been  an  ideal  one  lor  its  operation 
and  for  demonstration  of  its  results.  When  the  field 
was  virtually  closed  to  the  simple  tlospel.  tlif»  mis- 
sicnary  physician  fonnd  everywhere  an  exalted,  not 
to  say  exaggerated,  idea  of  the  efficacy  of  foreign  medi- 
cine, and  a  warm  welcome  for  timself.  Dr.  Cheek, 
who  virtually  lonuded  ..nr  ret,nilar  i.K'dical  work  among 
tli»'  Lao.  had  been  on  the  field  but  a  short  time  when 
he  i-eported  thirteen  thousand  patients  treated  in  one 
year.  Probably  no  subsequent  physician  has  liad  such 
absolute  control  of  the  situation  as  he  had.  so  long  as 
he  gave  his  time  and  talents  to  his  calling.  But  even 
the  layman  finds  his  medical  chest  an  invaluable  ad- 
junct to  his  evangelistic  work,  as  we  have  had  fre- 
quent occasion  to  notice.  We  are  devoutly  thankful 
for— we  might  almost  envy— the  influence  that  our 
medical  missionaries  have  exerted  In  the  civilization 
and  (lie  Clii  istianizatitm  of  tlie  Lao  tribes. 

Somewhat  of  the  present  status  and  imporiance  of 
the  medical  mission  may  be  judged  from  the  follow- 
ing facts:  Dr.  J.  W.  McKean's  projected  Leper  Asylum 


CONCLUSION 


428 


is  the  largest  charitahle  institatlon  ever  planned  in 

fhe  kiiifrdnin.  e  new  Orerbfook  llospilal  in  Cb'enp 
Rai,  the  generouH  jtift  of  the  Gent  faniil.v  of  Ovi  >ok, 
PennRylvania,  is  the  flnest  building  iu  the  luiKsion. 
The  Charles  T.  Van  Santroonl  Hospital  in  Lakawn 
is  another  similar  pin.  Native  ph.\sii'iaiiM,  Iniincd  as 
far  as  present  opportunities  permit  in  Western  surgery 
and  medicine,  are  now  maintained  at  certain  posts  by 
the  Siaiiie.si-  government.  And  eKi)ecially  the  work  of 
Dr.  Arthur  Kerr,  the  Koverninont  jthysitian  in  Chicng- 
mui,  and  his  unremitting  kindness  to  the  mission,  are 
deeply  appreciated  by  ns  all. 

1  lannot  close  these  remarks  wlthont  making  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  work  of  my  old  friend  and 
classmate  and  early  associate  in  the  mission,  Dr. 
Jonathan  Wilson.  In  addition  to  his  other  most 
valuable  labours,  he  si»ent  years  of  loving  and  devoted 
service  in  the  preparation  of  hymns  for  Lao  worabip, 
which  will  monld  and  lead  the  spiritnal  life  of  this 
people  for  years  to  come.  The  Lao  are  lovers  of 
music.  Many  of  them  have  leceived  mu<  ?i  of  their  re- 
ligious instruction  through  the  use  of  i  <■  hymns. 
His  inSnoice  in  the  LSn  chnrch  may  tie  c(»^pared  to 
that  of  Watts  and  Wesley  for  the  t^nglkit  r^. 

Onr  long  isolation  as  a  mission  has  enaUed  ii  to 
appreciate  the  coming  to  us  in  late  years  of  *a  aijifciu 
of  distinguished  visitors,  who  have  greatly  en- 
aged  and  strengthened  us. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  in  December,  1900,  we 
favoured  with  a  visit  from  our  United  States  II  nisi 
Hon.  Hamilton  King,  and  his  two  daughters.  U 
ferring  to  his  visit,  the    Lao  Quarterly  Letter"  said 
"His  addresses  to  the  missionaries  and  native  a^ 


.24  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LXO 


istera  and  eldem  of  the  Pre8b;y  U  rv  were  much  appre- 
ciated, and  our  lar^e  cliurch  building  waH  crowded  on 
two  BOCcesHive  8abbatbH  to  hear  his  eloquent  words 
of  encouragement  to  native  Cbriatiana,  and  his  warm 
lommendation  of  (^briHtianity  to  non  ('hrintians.  It 
h.is  lH>cn  said  that  one  of  !li(>  boat  hings  which  a 
I'nited  States  Miuiater  cau  tak«  to  a  n^n-Chrigtian 
land  is  a  good  Christian  home.  And  thi  •  is  JiMt  wliat 
Mr.  Kinn  has  broiij^lit  to  Siain." 

At  tlie  Annual  Meeting  of  the  following  year,  in 
Lakawn,  w<  reeeived  the  first  ofBcial  viait  we  ever  had 
from  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  onr  Board,  in  'person 
of  Kcv.  Arthur  J.  Itrown,  P.I).,  accompanied  by  his 
good  wife.  The  importance  of  these  Hecietarial  visits 
to  distant  missions  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  It  ia 
impossible  to  legislate  intelligently  for  a  constituency 
twelve  tbonsand  miles  away.  No  amount  of  writing 
can  give  the  varied  kinds  of  information  necessary 
tor  a  fall  understanding  of  the  people,  the  mission- 
aries, their  surroundings,  and  the  needs  of  the  field, 
which  a  single  visit  Will  convey.  Then,  too,  there  are 
qaestions  of  administration  and  mission  polity,  re- 
quiring settlement  in  the  home  Hoard,  which  can 
with  difficulty  be  understood  through  correspondence. 
Dr.  Brown's  oflScial  visit  was  most  helpful,  as  also 
his  words  of  encouragement,  his  sermons  and  ad- 
dresses. The  pleasure  derived  from  the  personal  visits 
of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  I5rown  to  various  members  of  the 
Mission  will  always  linger  in  our  memories. 

Another  notable  visit  to  Cbiengmai  was  that  of 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Siam,  now  His  Majesty  Maha 
Vajiravudh,  in  the  winter  of  1905-6.  On  this  visit  His 
Royal  Highness  very  graciously  accepted  the  invita- 
tion of  the  mission  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  the  Will- 


CONCLUSION 


425 


iam  Allen  Butler  Hall,  the  recitation  hall  of  the  new- 
Boys'  School.  On  that  occasion  he  delivered  an  ad- 
dress, of  which  the  following  is  a  translation: 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — I  have  listened  with  great 
pleasure  to  the  complimentary  remarks  which  have  just  been 
made.  I  regard  them  as  indisputable  evidence  of  your 
friendship  for  the  whole  Kingdom  of  Siam. 

"  During  my  visit  to  the  United  States,  the  American 
people  were  pleased  to  gire  me  a  most  enthusiastic  welcome. 
I  may  mention  particularly  the  sumptuous  banquet  with 
which  your  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  honoured  me.  I 
perceived  clearly  that  the  American  people  received  me 
whole-heartedly  and  not  perfunctorily.  This  also  made 
it  evident  to  me  that  the  American  people  have  a  sincere 
friendship  for  the  Kingdom  of  Siam.  Of  this  fact  I  was 
profoundly  convinced,  and  I  certainly  shall  not  soon  forget 
my  visit  to  the  United  States. 

"  This  being  so,  I  feel  compelled  to  reciprocate  this  kind- 
ness to  the  full  extent  of  my  ability.  As  my  Buyal  Grand- 
father and  my  Boyal  Father  have  befriended  the  mission- 
aries, so  I  trust  that  I  too  shall  have  opportunity,  on 
proper  occasions,  to  assist  them  to  the  limits  of  my  power. 

"Tour  invitation  to  me  to-day  to  lay  the  comer  stone 
of  your  new  School  Building,  is  another  evidence  of  your 
friendship  and  goodwill  toward  Siam.  I  have  full  confi- 
dence that  you  will  make  every  endeavour  to  teach  the 
students  to  use  their  knowledge  for  the  welfare  of  their 
country.  Therefore  I  take  great  pleasure  in  complying  with 
your  request,  and  T  invoke  a  rich  blessing  on  this  new  in- 
stitution. May  it  prosper  and  fulfil  the  highest  expecta- 
tions of  its  foun<terfll" 

In  response  to  a  request  from  the  Principal  that  he 
would  name  the  new  school,  His  Royal  Highness  sent 
the  following  reply : 

"Chienomai,  .January  2d,  1906. 
"  I  have  great  pleasure  in  naming  the  new  school,  the 
foundation  stone  of  which  I  have  just  laid.  The  Prince 
Bojral'B  CoUege.  May  this  School  which  I  have  so  named. 


426  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

be  prosperous,  and  realize  all  that  its  well-wishers  hoi^e  for 
it    May  it  long  flourish,  and  remain  a  worthy  monument  of 
the  enterprise  of  tlio  American  Presbyterian  _  Church  of 
Chienamai.   This  is  the  wish  of  their  sincere  friend, 
^  "  Vajibatddh." 

Little  did  we  then  think  that  His  Royal  Highness 
would  so  soon  be  called  to  till  the  liigli  office  left 
vacant  by  the  lamented  death  of  his  distinguished 
father,  King  Chnlalangkorn,  which  occurred  October 
22d,  1910. 

In  December,  190S,  Mi-s.  McGilvary's  brother,  Pro- 
fessor Cornelius  B.  Bradley  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, while  on  a  visit  to  the  land  of  his  birth  and 
of  his  father's  labours,  paid  us  a  visit  in  the  North. 
He  was  present  at  our  Annual  Meeting  in  Lakawn, 
and  on  Sunday  preached  the  Commnnion  sermon,  and 
again  in  Chiengmai.  It  was  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
who  heard  him,  boin  natives  and  foreigners,  that  he 
could  converse  fluently  and  flawlessly,  and  could  so 
preach,  after  an  absence  of  thirty-six  years.  It  was 
upon  this  visit  to.Siam  that  he  made  a  special  study 
and  translation  of  the  Sukhothai  Stone— the  earliest 
known  monument  of  the  Siamese  language. 

In  company  with  Professor  Bradley  came  Mr.  Wil- 
liam McClusky,  a  business  man,  on  a  visit  to  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  M.  B.  Palmer.  The  significance  of  this 
visit  lies  in  the  fact  that  Mr.  McClusky  has  remained 
among  us,  and  has  identified  himself  with  the  work  of 
the  mission,  endearing  himself  to  ail. 

In  V.m  :\Irs.  Mcf'.ilvary  returned  to  the  United 
States  for  a  much  needed  change.  I  remained  on  the 
field  until  1906,  when  I  was  cabled  for  on  account 
of  the  very  serious  state  of  her  health.  1  found  her 
very  low,  and  my  visit  was  devoted  to  the  restoration 


CONCLUSION 


427 


of  her  health.  In  the  antnmn  she  was  suflScicntly  re- 
covered to  make  onr  retam  possible,  and  the  voyage 

was  undertaken  in  compliance  with  her  own  ardent 
wish.  She  was  greatly  benefited  by  the  sea-voyage,  and 
since  her  return  her  health  has  been  fully  restored. 

On  May  Ifith,  1908,  my  daughter,  Mrs.  William  Har- 
ris, gave  a  dinner  in  honour  of  my  eightieth  birthday, 
at  which  all  our  missionary  and  European  friends  in 
Chiengmai  were  guests.  Dr.  McKean  expressed  the 
congratulations  of  my  friends  in  an  address,  from 
which  I  quote  the  following :  "  Eighty  years  of  age, 
sir,  but  not  eighty  years  old!  We  do  not  associate 
the  term  old  age  with  you,  for  you  seem  to  have  drunk 
of  the  fount  of  perpetual  youth."  But  the  sentiment 
to  which  I  most  heartily  subscribe  is  the  following: 
"There  is  a  common  maxim  among  men  to  which 
we  all  readily  assent;  namely,  that  no  man  is  able  to 
do  his  best  work  in  the  world  without  having  re- 
ceived from  God  that  best  of  all  temporal  gifts,  a  help- 
meet for  him.  We  most  heartily  congratulate  you 
that,  early  in  your  life  in  Siam,  Mrs.  McGilvary  was 
made  a  partner  in  this  great  life  work.  And  no  one 
knows  so  well  as  yourself  how  large  a  part  she  has 
had  in  making  possible  much  of  the  strenuous  work 
that  you  have  done.  To  her,  likewise,  we  offer  on  this 
happy  occasion  our  hearty  congratulations  and  our 
fervent  wishes  for  an  ever-brightening  future ! " 

On  December  6th,  1910,  Mrs.  McGilvary  and  I  cele- 
brated our  Golden  Wedding.  As  this  occurred  during 
the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Mission,  most  of  our  mis- 
sionary friends,  as  well  as  our  friends  of  the  foreign 
colony,  were  present.  Tt  was  a  mnttor  of  great  re- 
gret, however,  that  Dr.  Wilson,  who  was  present  at 
tl»  wedding  fifty  years  before,  was  too  feeble  to  come 


428  AMONG  THE  SIAMESE  AND  THE  LAO 

to  Chiengmai  on  this  occasion.   The  many  beautiful 
gifts  received  were  another  tolsen  of  the  loving  regard 
of  our  friends  and  dear  ones  in  this  and  in  the  home- 
land.  Among  the  many  letters  an<l  telegrams  re- 
ceived was  a  cablegram  from  our  children  in  Amer- 
ica.  "  It  was  lilie  a  hand  clasp  and  a  whisper  of 
love  flashed  around  the  worid."  Dr.  Arthur  J.  Brown, 
spealiing  for  himself  and  the  members  of  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  wrote:  "We  greatly  rejoice  in  your 
long  and  conspicuously  devoted  and  influential  service 
for  the  Lao  people.  We  share  the  veneration  and  lov^ 
with  which  we  know  you  are  regarded  by  the  people 
among  whom  your  lives  have  been  spent,  and  by  the 
missionaries  with  whom  you  have  be«i  so  closely  as- 
sociated.  It  woi'ld  be  a  joy  if  we  could  join  the  rela- 
tives and  friends  A-ho  will  be  with  you  on  that  happy 
day  in  December.   We  invoke  God's  richest  bless- 
ings on  you  both.  Mrs.  Brown  and  aii  my  colleagues 
in  the  olBce  unite  with  the  members  of  the  Board  in 
loving  congratulations." 

One  of  the  most  valued  of  these  messages  came  from 
H.  R.  H.  Prince  Damrong,  Minister  of  the  Interior: 
"  I  just  learn  from  the  local  papers  of  the  celebration 
of  your  Golden  Wedding.  I  wish  you  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Gilvary  to  accept  my  sincere  congratulations  and  best 
wishes  that  you  both  may  be  spared  tc  continue  your 
great  work  for  many  more  years.  Damrong." 

Our  good  friend,  H.  E.  Praya  Surasih  Visithsakdl, 
High  Commissioner  for  the  Northwestern  Provinces, 
brought  his  congratulations  in  person,  presenting  Mrs. 
McGilvary  with  a  very  rare  old  Siamese  bowl  of  inlaid 
work  of  silver  and  gold. 

From  the  native  church  in  Chieng  Rai  a  message  in 
Lfto  was  received,  of  which  the  following  is  a  transla- 


CONCLUSION 


429 


tion:  "  The  Ohieng  Rai  Christians  invoke  Divine  bless- 
ings on  the  Father-Teacher  and  Mother  Teacher  Mc- 
Gllrary,  who  are  by  us  more  beloved  than  gold." 

We  were  deeply  touched  oy  a  most  unexpected 
demonstration  of  the  Chitngmai  Christians,  who  as- 
sembled at  our  home,  and  with  many  expressions  of 
loving  esteem  and  gratitude  presented  as  with  a  sil- 
ver tray,  designed  by  themselves,  on  which  were  repre- 
sentetl  in  relief  the  progress  of  the  city  in  these  tifty 
years:  on  one  end  the  old  bridge,  on  the  other  rhe 
new  bridge  just  completed;  on  the  two  sides,  the  rest- 
house  wo  occupied  ir  .ur  arrival  in  Chiengmai,  and 
our  present  home.  The  inscription,  in  LSo,  reads: 
"1867-1910.  The  Christian  people  of  Chiengmai  to 
Father-Teacher  and  Mother-Teacher  McGilvary,  in 
memory  of  your  having  brought  the  Good  Ne^^'s  of 
Christ,  forty-three  years  ago." — It  makes  one  feel  very 
humble  to  qnote  snch  expressions  from  our  colleagues 
and  friends.  But  it  would  not  be  in  human  nature 
to  fail  to  appreciate  them. 

I  would  not  close  this  life-story  without  express- 

ng,  on  behalf  of  my  wife  and  myt  elf,  our  heartfelt 
gratitude  to  our  friends,  native  and  foreign,  for  the 
great  kindness  shown  us  in  our  intercourse  with  them 
during  these  long  years;  and,  above  all,  our  devout 
gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  all  good,  for  sparing  so  long 
our  lives,  and  crowni.ng  them  with  such  rich  bless- 
ings. Of  these  the  greatest  has  been  in  permitting  us 
to  lay  the  foundations,  and  to  witness  the  steady 
growth  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Northern  Siam. 


INDEX 


Arthington,  Robert,  373-37C, 
38(1. 

Bradley,  Rev.  Dan  Beach,  M.D., 
45,  52,  54-67,  «7-70,  131-132, 
164,  199. 

Buddhist  shrines,  172173,  188, 
2S2-253. 

CennnoBieB  and  Festivals:  Dam 
Hfia,  84-86;  cremation,  145- 
147;  dedication  of  a  shrine, 
188-189;  rice-harvest,  274; 
fairs,  327,  356,  366;  "kin 
waw,"  323,  343;  sacred  days, 
318-319;  wedding  feast,  396; 
New  Year,  396-397. 

Chulalongkom,  King  of  Siam, 
211-213,  382.  426. 

Commission,  Royal,  112,  121- 
131. 

Conunissioners,  High :  Praya 
T5p  Worachun,  193-194,  205, 
206,  208,  210,  213-215, 
222,  300;  Comraisaioner  not 
named,  300-304;  Chow  Prayft 
Surasth,  419. 

Cushing,  Rt  v.  .1.  N..  D.D.,  138- 
139,  244,  247.  2r.O.  ;{73. 

Demonisin  and  witcluraft,  75- 
76,  91.  03-lt4,  17.J.  194,  203- 
.208,  214,  260-270,  278,  321, 
324,  331,  340. 

Diseases:  cholpra,  51;  fever, 
88,  100.  195,  205.  242; 
goitre.  88;  smallpox  (vacci- 
nation), .57,  H9-91,  243.  250; 
scurvv,  19(1;  nioitalitv  of  re- 
peopled  districts.  202,'2S2. 

Education:  f  J  iris'  School.  177- 
178,  221-2_'3.  274.  284,  287, 
292,  418-419;  Boys'  School, 
284,  291,  300.  419,  424-426; 
Phraner  Memorial,  377,  418; 


|)arooliin1,  418;  government, 
419  420;  educ:ilioiial  policy 
as  regards  language,  222-225, 
420-422. 
Elephants:  saddle,  62,  151-152, 
157,  246,  249-260,  311-312, 
317-318,  330-331.  35S,  369- 
360,  382  383;  wild,  1.56,  253, 
311;  baby  elephants,  246-247, 
309. 

Evangeli.sts  and  ministers,  na- 
tive, 267-263,  377-380,  414- 
416. 

Famine,  336,  346,  349-352. 
French  Indo-China,  332,  364, 

358,  384,  and  chapters  xxziii, 

xxxiv. 

Hallet,  Holt  S.  (railroad  sur- 
vey) 244-264. 

House,  Rev.  S.  R.,  M.D.,  37- 
38.  *5,  63,  67,  92-93.  110-112. 

Intanon,  Prince  of  Chiengmai, 
81,  90,  108-109,  132,  137,  142, 
145,  187,  193-194,  209,  245, 
262,  29.1.  300. 

Kamu  trilie,  3B8,  393-394,  400. 
403,  405.  407,  411. 

Karpn:^.  89.  143  144. 

KawilOrot.  Prince  of  Chieng- 
mai (1855-1870).  57.  iu.  69- 
70,  85-8(i.  90,  95,  102-106, 
121-129,  133-138,  14(M47. 

Lao:  the  name,  13  14.  57-58; 
spellinj^  of  Lao  words.  1213; 
people.  58.  15(1;  states.  130, 
191-192,  218-219,  262;  lan- 
giiagp,  357.  35S,  420-422,  see 
also  Education;  women.  144- 
145. 

Lao  Mission:  planted.  77;  Rev. 
.1.  \\'ils(m  arrives,  92;  fir.st 
church  organized,  93;  a  gift 


431 


482 


INDEX 


of  land,  05;  llrnt  nntivc  mom 
bfTH  rccfiv.Ml,  !t(M()l  ;  ptTsc 
tiition,  10(1-1 17;  miHH.  Ill  niip- 
post'dly  atrUKloiu'ii,  12(5;  iii- 
ttTvention,  l:tOi:t'i;  new 
r<iKime.  i:»71U;  pt'rmuiiont 
buililinKi,  HO  142;  tifMt 
phyaiciiin.  U!>;  <'<irU'  S(li(x>l, 
177;  U'liilii'H  arrive,  221- 
222;  riMiiliiriH'im'iil,  242; 
Pn'sbytery  orgnniml,  257; 
printinK  pr«'«s,  :120;  Cliris- 
tian  Kmleavor,  li-^l  ;  rtiiiii- 
inurieH,  217  2 IH,  225,  2S7- 
288,  209.  :t04,  401 ;  general  re- 
view, 41M  423. 

Later  Missioiiarien:  Brijiup, 
Rev.  W.  A.,  M.D.,  10,  310, 
330  337.  351-352,  401;  Camp- 
bell, Rev.  Howard,  .370,  411. 
414;  Mrtf.  CamplK'!!,  418; 
Campbell,  Miss  Mary,  177, 
221  222,  234.  230-237,  240; 
Cary,  A.  M..  M.D.,  283-284. 
290.  298;  Clieek,  M.  A.,  M.D., 
100,  109,  178,  190,  196,  212, 
233,  236-237,  283,  292;  Mra. 
Cheek,  169,  242,  293;  Cole, 
Miss  Edna  E.,  177,  221-222, 
233,  240,  284,  387;  Collins, 
Rev.  D.  G.,  283,  284,  296, 
301 ;  Curtis,  Rev.  L.  VV.,  376; 
Mrs.  Curtis,  9;  Denman,  C. 

H.  ,  M.D.,  876,  881,  382-386; 
Dodd,  Rev.  W.  C,  D.D.,  283, 
284-286,  289,  291,  296,  301, 
368,  377-378,  382,  384,  401; 
Mrs.  Dodd  (Miss  B.  Eakin), 
292,  293,  303;  Fleeson,  MiH.t, 
292,  293,  299;  Freeman,  Rev. 
J.  H.,  9,  296;  Griffin,  Miss 

I.  A.,  240,  243.  284,  292,  200; 
Hearst,  Rev.  J.  H..  230,  243; 
Irwin,  Rev.  Robert.  319,  353, 
362,  367,  401;  Martin,  Rev. 
Chalmers.  230,  250,  252,  268, 
270,  271-273,  270.  283: 
McGilvary,  Cornelia  II.  (Mr^. 
William  Harris).  199.  306, 
308-316,    427;  Mctiilvaiy. 


Hcv.  Evander  B„  337,  371; 
Mt'<!i1vury,     Marffaret  A. 
(.Mrx.  Roderick  Gillie*).  197, 
:\X,  ■   M<  Keun,  .1.  VV.,  M.D., 
;U>0.  310.  320,  338.  .141,  422- 
423,  427 ;  I'eoplcs,  Rev.  H.  C, 
M.I).,  230,  250.  237.  263-266, 
•JS!>  20I,  .(00,  319.  387;  Mrs. 
l'eople«,  240;  Phraner.  Rev. 
Slunl.  y  K..  319.  320,  326-329, 
370  377,  418;  Mrs.  Phraner 
(  Lizzie  VVe»ter\'elt) ,  238,  274, 
2H4;  Taylor.  Rev.  Hugh,  299, 
308  300;    Vrooman,   C.  W., 
M.D.,  149  169.  166. 
Native    Converts:    Ai  Tfl 
(Praya    Pakdi).   277,  280, 
287;  Cha  Pfl  Kaw  and  Cha 
Waw.  Die  under  MflsA;  Chao 
Borirak.  158,  103,  197;  Lung 
In.  168,  170,  202;  NSn  Chai, 
100-101,  114  117;  Nfln  Chai- 
wana,  200-270;    Nan  Inta, 
96-99.  149,  101,  163,  207,  208, 
210,  233,  243,  257,  268;  N»n 
Ta,  225-228,  234,  243,  248, 
258,  272,  276,  277,  283,  299, 
.301 ;  Nan  81  Wichai.  199, 243; 
Nan    Suwan,    197-198,  233, 
248,  257,  280.  287.  327,  830, 
333,  341,  369;  Noi  Intachak, 
230,  257,  260;  Noi  Siri,  301- 
304,  333;  Noi  Sunya,  99-100, 
114-117;  Noi  Taiiya,  278-279, 
290,  334;  Pk  Seng  Bun,  206- 
206;  PrayB  Sfhanat,  199-201, 
232-233;    Stn   UtamS,  230, 
232;  S*n  Ya  Wichai,  79,  100, 
105,  203,  281,  291. 
Maha     Mongkut,     King  of 

Slam.  37,  47-48,  70. 
Maha    V'ajiravudh,    King  of 

8iani,  425-420. 
Mattoon.  Hev.  S.,  D.D..  39,  45, 

07,  105-100. 
MiDoniild,  Rov.  N.  A..  D.D..  53, 

(IS.  I():!-104.  121ff. 
McF'arland,  Rev.  S.  G.,  D.D., 
63,  70-71. 


INDEX 


433 


McGilvary,  Rev.  Daniel,  D.D., 
birth  (1828),  20;  parentage, 
10-20;  childhood,  20-28;  con- 
version, 27-28;  lUngham 
School.  20-31;  teaching,  31- 
32 ;  Prenbytery  of  Orange,  32- 
34;  Priiir('t<»n  Si-niinttry 
( 1 833-1 85tl ) ,  .).■>  .iH ;  pastor- 
ate, 38-41;  orilinution,  42; 
voyage,  43-4S ;  Bangkok 
(1858-1861),  45-52;  marriage 
(IHliO),  52;  Pechaburl,  63ff; 
first  ncqiiiiintAnce  with  the 
l.aii,  :>'-'tH;  iour  of  explora- 
tion to  t'hienpiuii.  50-6fi; 
charter  of  the  Li'io  rniHsion, 
66-70;  removal  to  C'hiengmai 
(1867),  71  70:   pionwr  ex- 

Kriences,  77-83;  ceremony  of 
un  Htia,  84-86;  non-pro- 
feaaional  medicine  and  siir- 
gBry,  8S-91,  !)5,  120,  147-148, 
158,  100.  106,  ,S22,  362; 
vi».  froiii  Dr.  Houhp,  92; 
Firsv  Church  organiml,  93; 
tirst-fniits,  95-101;  thu 
gutlirri'ip  storm,  102  105;  it 
breaks  (Sop.  18«»).  106; 
terrifying,'  Rii.spensp,  107,  118- 
110;  alarm  in  Hangkok,  111- 
113;  the  martyrw,  114  117; 
Siarae«e  Royal  Commission, 
121;  a  stormy  audience  and 
its  results,  122-129;  death  of 
KfiwilOrot,  13.1-135;  visit 
from  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cushing, 
138-1,10;  the  new  rulers,  137- 
144;  building,  140-142;  arri- 
val of  a  missionary  physi- 
cian, 149;  First  Tour  ('872, 
with  Dr.  Vroonian) — explora- 
tion north  and  east.  150- 
159;  visit  to  Lakawn  and 
Nan,  161-168;  first  furlough 
(1873-187.')).  150  168:  Sec- 
ond Tour  (187i), — explora- 
tion northwestward.  170-177; 
conversation  witli  the  Prin- 
cess, 180-187;  shrine  on  Doi 
Sutep,  188-189;  flrmer 


mese  policy — the  Resident 
High  Commissioner,  191-104; 
the  deaf  Prayft,  100  201; 
struggle  with  demonism:  — 
P4  8*ng  Bun,  203-206;  Chris- 
tian marriage  defeated,  207- 
209;  appeal  unto  Ciesar,  210- 
212;  Kdiet  of  Religious  Tol- 
eration (187H),  213  220; 
teuchern  for  the  (lirls' 
School,  221-222;  the  harvest 
of  twelve  years.  225 ;  the  nine 
years'  wanderer,  225-228 ; 
voyage  to  Hongkong,  228-230; 
Rah^ng,  230-232;  churches 
organized,  233;  second  fur- 
lough (1881  1882)— rein- 
fiireementa  and  losses,  236- 
243;  a  surveying  expedition 
(1884),  244-254;  equipment 
for  touring,  240-251  ;  semi- 
monthly mail  to  Maulmein, 
255-2.")»l ;  death  of  Princess 
Tipa  Kesawn,  2.')7  ;  Presbytery 
of  North  Laos  and  the  train- 
ing of  native  evangelists, 
257-262;  station  establi.shed 
at  Lakawn,  263-265;  struggle 
with  demouism  renewed — 
Bun  lYn,  266-270;  work 
among  the  villages,  270-274; 
Third  Tour  (1886,  with  Mr. 
Martin )  — Christian  commun- 
ities in  the  north,  276-283; 
reinforcements,  283-284; 
river  trip  with  Mr.  Dodd, 
285-286 ;  Fourth  Tour 
(1887),  286-287;  Fifth  Tour 
(1888,  with  Dr.  Peoples  and 
Mr.  Dodd): — chureh  organ- 
ized in  Chieng  SCn,  289-291; 
serious  illness,  291 ;  mar- 
riage of  his  daughter — the 
Prince  and  the  charades,  293; 
foothold  secured  in  LarapQn, 
294-296;  trip  to  Bangkok, 
297;  week  at  Ban  Pen,  297- 
298;  a  marvellous  recovery, 
208 ;  the  "  prisoner  of  Jesus 
Chriat,"  SOO-SOi}  taz-rdbel- 


484 


INDEX 


lion,  mi.intl;  Dr.  MiKonn. 
and  a  oontinirnu*  imdiiMl 
miasion  at  lii«t,  ;ioti:t(»7; 
Sixth  Tour  (  isim,  with  Mi"* 
McOllv.irv )  :  I.uknwn,  I'rf. 
Nan,  3tw:tl(>;  tho  loxt  (Ic 
phant,  311;  ChifriK  Kawii^' 
and  tho  "  TenrhiT's  Unitil," 
313-314;  (MiiciifT  Si'n  arid 
CliipiiK  RAi,  314  315;  .>li' 
jiliHiit  -niiwiiyH,  317-31H; 
Huildliist  Hnrn'd  dii.vi4  to  1>« 
olworvnl  1)V  ('hri!<tianH,  31H- 
319;  Sfvinlli  i'our  (1H!)I, 
with  Mr.  I'hranrr).  320  33(1: 
— flrstt  nifftmj;  uitli  (he 
MOdOh.  32.2  327;  MiVin;;  I^'ti, 
327-320;  Cliionn  Srn.  32i»- 
330;  a  thrillin^;  cxiMrii'ticcs 
3.'»0  331;  Cliii'iiK  KawiiK  iilid 
.dP.MiiR  Tr.iifj.  332-333; 
MusAm  liapti/iil.  333-33(1; 
Ki^'hlh  Ti>ui  (  1^^112.  with  Dr. 
Mc'l\oaii) — amonj;  tho  Muhi"* 
villag"s,      33H-34H ;  tragic 

Rtruf;^'''  "|>iiii"' 
famine  34!<-3r)2;  Xinth  To\ir 
(1803,  with  Mr.  Irwin)— tho 
Sipsawnp  I'ai^na.  3rj3-3tiS; 
MOanj:  Yawnji,  3.">4-3.">,") ;  an 
iiniliiiovi-rrd  peril.  3.'")H;  C'hi- 
Knii>.';  ferrv  and  furd  of 
the  K.'.nR,  3.')0-360; 

dysentery  and  horoio  trent- 
mrnt,  3(12;  Mftan^  Sing,  363- 
3(i«;  MfH(^s  pas*  of  the  Me 
K6n»r.  '(U-3f.>^;  third  fur- 
louKh  ( 1H03-I  -04).  370  .•i7(i; 
Mr.  Arthing-  >n  "f  Ix'ed-i,  3V3- 
376;  I'l'^shyteiy  nd  a  native 
niinislr\  377  '"^O;  Tentli 
'l  our  'j.-^i  ."•  V  ilh  Dr.  Urn- 
man )  — < 'lif  :itr  i\ai  chosen  for 
a  stntion.  l^2-3H4;  evanp'l- 
ists  8ent  toith.  3!M  ;  Mfisos, 
38,5;  Elevr.itli  Tour  ( 1.«''7. 
with  Dr.  Peoples  )~thp 
"  rejiions  beyond  ":  I.nang 
ri,i;...r,^.  /.-.-■;'".;  roiirSesy  of 
French  officials,  388-390,  395, 


liils,  400;  Mflang  Rai,  3M- 
.10 1;  MrtnnB  aT.  .394-30."S; 
wi'ildinK  ffiaiit,  305;  Hiirpri«i> 
party,  306  .307;  Mni.nj*  Sinjf, 
,30M.  300;  Twelfth  Tour 
(  IHIIH)  -  the  c  losed  <loor,  402- 
412:  ^^umnlolled  to  the  1'.  S. 
Iiy  illm  ss  of  Mrs.  Meliilvary 
(  I'Mi.".  I .  427  ;  (Jolden 

Wedding.  427-4;JUj  apprecia- 
tion l)v  Dr.  Arthur  J.  Brown, 
D.D.,  1-7. 

Otiservation.s  and  eriticisms: 
Continuity  in  mission  poliey, 
416  417;  Cntiverti*  with  more 
than  one  wife,  231-232;  Kx- 
rlusion  of  th,  l.ao  miHi«ion 
from  the  Lao  sjieakinfj  peo- 
ples of  the  north.  1^1.  .3.32, 
36H-360,  404,  411-412;  Girls* 
Sihtvds  ns  Chrit^tianizinK 
afjencies.  17«,  203,  2H0,  2H4, 
2H7,  418  410;  Heresy  trials, 
371-372;  Lanmia^e  prohlem, 
222  22.'},  420-422;  Native 
cvantridists  and  ministers, 
2.-)7  262,  ,377-380,  414-416; 
rarliaiiient  of  religions,  370- 
371;  OlH'dient  to  constitutud 
authority  and  law,  208,  301, 
.303.  400.  406;  Outlying 
Christian  eommunities — their 
claim  on  the  missionary,  329- 
330 ;  Rulers — importance  of 
cultivating  their  acquaint- 
ance, 90, '  144,  161,  170-171, 
3.30. 

Religious  teachings  and  con- 
versations, 97-98,  161-162, 
174-176,  180-188,  199-200, 
34  ?-343,  365. 
Mcfiilvaiy,  Mrs.  Sophia  Brad- 
lev,  marriage,  52;  wina  first 
LAO  convert,  79,  100;  life  in 
a  hamhoo  shack,  140;  fur- 
lougV.  after  twenty-three 
years  in  Siain.  169-160;  river 
j.iurney  without  iscort,  164; 
opens  fiT^t  iMo  school,  177; 
cole  assistant  in  tbe  miBsion, 


INDEX 


435 


198-107i  trsatkitM  fint  (ion 

pel  into  T  An,  288,  .120;  vjHitH 
to  thi>  I  .  S.,  ISH,  2'2!t,  >:\H. 
42rt-427;  (i.)l(lcn  \V  .liiiK. 
427- »2K. 

Modiciil  xMiHniiin,  Hiiinniiirv, 
4.'2  4L';». 

Mi  rit  making.  fi4,  m.  i:t4,  147. 

I  HO,  257. 
MiM^ioii,  Aiiii-ricau  Uuptist,  of 

iiuniia.   l.'IH,  143,  264,  368, 

:)h:i.  41H. 

MuH.t  trilH  ,  L-Tfl,  322-327.  334- 

336,  338-348. 
Neviut,  Rav.  Dr.,  378-379. 
OpIuBi,  136,  333,  346-348,  357, 

390. 

Pmbytery:  of  Siam,  47,  59,  71 ; 
of  North  Lao!.,  '_'.i7-2«0,  .^77- 
380. 

PrineMs:  Tipa  Kf^sawn.  "(.->  00, 
lOH-lOfl,  145,  17H,  ISO  1S7, 
209,  222,  257;  the  younger, 


5.-..  «.1M,  108.  114,  US,  119, 

l.ltl. 

I'rtiitiiij;  |)r»'H-i,  ami  l.rto  tna, 
224.  .120,  :i.t.s,  :i5.i.  ;}H4. 

I'ii>,t3  niu\  U'li'ifraplis,  91,  121, 

2.'>.'i  2.">tl.  210).  .(20. 
Hapidt:   Mt'  iMiig,  71-75i  M4 

Ki.MK.  |.">ll.').'l 

Kt'H.'iit  nf  Si, nil.  1 12.  1.12. 

KiiIiImTH     illlil      1)1  IJ^.Uhlllf,'!'.  Ul, 

104.   2:1:1.   ■.il'.K  :i.VS;  i.anilit 
chieftain,  H4,  !I0,  140,  147. 
Toluruliun,  Edict  of,  chapter 

xiv. 

Waifari'  piilation,  218, 

.15:1  ■'"  ,   l57.  ;i0.t. 

Uh  170. 

Wil.i  r.  ;  <!.MT.  2.").1,  .1.39; 
cat  I  ■>.:y.i.  ;ii:i;  tijjcr-  72, 
152,  .     :til.  :i.stl  ;)H7. 

Wilson.   |{('V.   .loiiatlian,  D.I)., 

;io,  .iH,  4;(,  51,  05,  07,  92, 

!)5,  ll;t,  140,  14H,  100,  221, 
233,  203,  291,  381,  423,  428. 


numCD  IK  THE  ONnXI.  -^rAit^i  01  »i^^kJCA 


BIOGRAPHY 


ROBERT  E.  SI'EER,  D.  D. 

The  Foreign  Dodtor:  "Tht  Hakim  s«hlb" 

A  Biography  of  Joseph  Plumb  Cochran,  M.D.,  of 
Persia.    Illusirated,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

Dr.  Cochran  came  to  a  position  of  power  in  Western 
FWtis  which  made  his  life  as  interesting  as  a  romance.  Ht 
wu  one  of  the  central  figfurrs  in  the  Kurdish  invasion 
Penia.  and  was  the  chief  means  of  savins  the  city  of  Vrm 
tnia.  In  no  other  biography  is  there  as  fulian  account  of  tB« 
actual  medical  work  done  by  the  medical  missionary,  and  of 
the  problem  of  the  use  of  the  political  influence  acquired  by 
a  man  of  Dr.  Cochran's  gifts  and  opportunities. 

HENRY  D.  PORTER.  M,D.,  D  P. 

William  Scott  Ament  A^^Jf^ZMun^ 

inustratc<i,  8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 
A  biography  of  one  of  the  most  honored  mistionariei  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  whose  long  and  effective  service  in 
China  has  inscribed  his  name  high  in  the  annala  of  tnoie 
whose  lives  have  been  given  to  the  uplift  of  tbeur  feUowmen. 

MARY  GRIDIEY  ELUNWOOD 

Frank  Field  Ellinwood 

His  Life  and  Work.    Illustrated,  cloth,  net  fi.oo. 

A  charming  biography  of  one  of  th-^  greateat  miaaionary 
leaders  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.— /eoi»#r*  S.  Spttr. 

AXTOXIO  AXDKf.A  AKRICIIl 

The  Story  of  Antonio  the  Galley  Slave 

With  Portrait,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 
"Reads  like  a  romance,  and  the  wonderful  thing  about 
it  is  that  it  is  true.  A  fervid  religious  experience,  a  passion 
for  service  and  good  intellectual  etjuipment  were  his  splendid 
preparation  for  a  great  missionary  work  among  his  country- 
men in  America." — Zion't  HeriUd. 

GEORGE  MUI.I.ER 

riMtnrtrt^  Mnllpr  The  MoJern  Apostle  of  Faith 
oeorge  Jnuuer,  Frederick  G.  Wabnk. 

JVtw  EJitiof,  inclttdine  the  t.aterStory  ofthtBHsttl  Orfkam 

Horn:    illustrated,  cloth,  net  75c. 

"Wliat  deep  attractiveness  is  found  in  thia  life  of  the 
great  and  simple-hearted  apostle." — ChristUtn  Advocatt. 

KISGSTON  PS  GRUCHE 

Dr.  Apricot  of  "Heaven-Below" 

Illustrated,  8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

'  No  one  who  has  read  thia  book  will  ever  afterwanb 
repeat  the  threadbare  objection,  "1  don't  believe  in  mia- 
iiona."— -C<»il»«»«» 


FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


ROBERT  E.  SPEER       The  Cole  Lectures  for  1911. 

Some  Great  Leaden  in  tiie  World 

Movement    i2mo,  doth,  net  ^WS- 

Mr.  Speer  In  his  characteristic  inspiring  way  hai  pr* 
tented  the  Itey  note  of  the  Uvea  of  six  of  the  World  s  great- 
est missionaries:  Raymond  Lull,  the  crusading  spirit  la  mis- 
sions; William  Carey,  the  problems  of  the  pioneer;  Altzander 
Uuff,  Missions  and  Education;  Geor{[e  Bowen,  the  •"25 
ideal  in  missions;  John  Lawrence,  politics  and  mtiainna;  MM 
Charles  G.  Gordon,  modern  missionary  knigbt-emacf. 

S.  M.  ZWEMER,  F.R.G.S.,  and  Otheri 

Islam  and  Missions 

izmo,  cloth,  net  ?  .50.  ^      ...    <-  j 

This  volume  presents  the  papers  read  at  fte_  Second 
Conference  on  Missions  to  Moslcma,  recently  MM  m  LiOCk- 
now,  India.     The  contributors  are  all  experts  01  HUrfS  «• 

perience  in  snth  mission  effort. 

VAN  SOMXfER,  ANNIE,  and  Othm 

Da>  light  in  the  Harem 

A  New  Era  for  Moslem  Women,   /n  Press. 

Woman's  work  for  Woman  is  nowhere  more  needed  than 
on  the  part  of  Christian  women  for  their  sisters  of  Islam. 
It  ia  a  most  difficult  field  of  service,  but  this  volume  by  au- 
thors long  and  practically  interested  in  this  important  Oiris- 
tkn  mlnUtry,  aemonstrates  how  effectually  this  work  haa 
SJiiJd  and  ii  beat  c"™''  forward  with  promising  results. 

pn?ERT  A.  HUME.  D  P. 

'  An  Interpretation  of  India's  Religious 

i2mo,  cloth,  ret  $1.25. 

The  author  of  this  careful,  though  popular,  study,  is 
eminently  qualified  to  deal  with  the  subject  of  his  thought- 
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denoe  in  Indis  and  intimate  study  of  India's  religious  his- 
tory what  he  says  will  be  accepted  the  estimate  and  in- 
terpretation of  an  tathority. 

MARGARET  E.  BURTON 

The  Education  of  Women  in  China 

Tlltistrated,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

The  author  of  this  scholarly  study  of  the  Chinese  woman 
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the  University  of  Chicago   The  work  is  probably  the 

most  thoroogn  study  of  an  important  phase  of  the  economic 
development  of  the  world's  moat  popuhnis  conatry  th«t  bat 
appeared. 


FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


Z.  S.  LOFTIS,  M.  D. 

A  MesM^e  from  Qataog 

The  Dinry  of  Z.  S.  Loftis.  M.D.  lUastnM, 
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outgoing  trip  together  with  inc  iJenta  of  the  dailr  Ufa  of  • 
missionary  in  this  "closed"  land. 

HOIf.  WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN 

The  Fruits  of  the  Tree 

liSoMV  bouds,  net  35c. 

Thia  {■  the  address  which  Mr.  Bryan  delivered  at  the 
World's  Missionary  Conference  at  Edinburgh  and  contains 
his  views  on  missions — views  which  are  the  result  of  hia 
personal  and  painstaking  investigation  on  foreign  fields. 

HELEN  S.  DYER 

Pandita  Ramabai 

The  Story  of  Her  Life.  Second  Edition.  Illus- 
trated, izmo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

"The  story  of  a  wonderful  life,  still  in  tke  mideareer  of 
high  usefulness.  'Pandita'  skodd  b*  kaowa  «o  all  Ancrkaa 
women." — Tht  Outlook. 

MINERVA  L  GUTHAPFEL 

The  HappieA  Girl  in  Korea 

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life;  they  combine  humor,  patbus  and  vivid  description, 

JOHN  JACKSON 

Secretary  to  the  Aftfuon  Co  Lepers  in  India  and  the  East. 

Mary  Reed,  Missionary  to  the  Lepers 

New  BdiHon.  lUtittnted,  unto,  c!oth.Qet  soc; 
paper,  net  2Sc. 

G.  r.  B.  DAVIS 

Korea  for  Chri^ 

Illustrated,  paper,  nrt  25c. 
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ky  an  eye  witncaa,  wko  kiawelf  partidpatad  is  the  work. 


MISSIONARY 


JULIUS  RICHTEK 

A  History  of  Protestant  MSssions  in  the 
Near  East  svo,  cisth,  net  tj.jo. 

A  companion  volume  to  "A  History  of  Mis'i-^ni  In  Ib- 
dia,"  \>j  this  ^reat  authority.  The  progress  of  M.-t  gospel  w 
traced  in  Asia  Minor,  Persia,  Arabia,  Syria,  nnd  Egypt. 
Non  sec'  r'.an  in  spirit,  thoroughly  comprcbcniivc  in  scopt. 

JOHN  P.  JONES.  P.P. 

The  Modem  AGssionary  Challenge 

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These  lectures,  by  the  author  of  "Indla'i  Problem, 
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thought.  The  new  difficulties,  the  new  incentives,  are  con- 
sidered by  one  whose  experience  in  the  field  and  as  a  writer, 
<r*  '!e  him  to  cnnsideration. 

AldNlO  BUNKER,  P.P. 

Sketches  from  the  Karen  Hills 

Illustrated,  izmo.  Cloth,  net  $i.oo. 

lliase  descriptive  chapters  from  a  missionary's  life  in 

Burma  are  of  exceptional  vividness  and  rich  in  an  appre- 
ciation for  color.  His  pen  pictures  give  not  only  a  splendid 
insight  into  n.itive  life,  missionary  work,  but  have  a  distinc- 
tive literary  charm  which  charMtertiM  hit  "So«  Ih^" 

JAMES  F.  LOVE 

The  Unique  Message  and  Universal 
Mission  of  Christianity 

limo,  cloth,  net  $i.JS. 

A  volume  dealing  with  the  philosophy  of  mission!  at 
once  penetrating  and  unusual.  It  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
original  and  valuable  contributions  to  the  mbjcct  yet  made. 

WILLIAM  EPWARP  GARPNER 

Winners  of  the  World  During  Twenty 

Centuries     Adapted  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

A  Story  and  a  Study  of  Missionary  Effort  from  the  Time  of 
Paul  to  the  Present  Day.  Cloth,  net  6oc;  paper,  net  JOO. 

Children's  Missionary  Series 

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Children  of  Africa.  James  B,  Baird. 

Children  of  Arabia.  John  C.  Veung. 

Children  of  China.  C.  Campbsll  Brown, 

Children  of  Indim.  Janet  Harrey  Relman.  ^ 


MISSIONARY 


The  World  Missionary  Conference 

Report  of  the  Ecnmenical  Conference  held  in  Edinhureh 
in  1910,   la  Bine  volumes,  eacli,  net  7Sc.;  the  complete  let 
oi  nine  ▼oiume*,  net  Is  oo- 
A  whole  miitioilary  library  by  experts  and  wrought  up  to 
the  via?  Uid  hour.    The  Conference  has  been  called  a  modern 
qonncil  of  Nkea  and  the  report  the  greatest  nuHionary  pub- 
lication ever  made. 

Vol.  I.  Carryins  the  Gospel.      Vol.6.  The  Home  Base. 
Vol.  2.  The   Church  in  the     Vol.  7.  Missions  and  Ga»eri» 

Missiun  Field.  nienl'*. 
Vol.  3.  Christian  Education.         Vol.  8.  Oi-operntion  and 
Vol.  4.  The  Missionary  Mes-  Unity. 

sage.  Vol.  9.  ilistory,  Records  and 

Vol.     Preparation  of  Mia-  Addresses. 

sionariea. 

Echoes  from  Edinbui^h,  1910 

By  W.  H.  T.  GAiRDinit,  author  of"D.  M.  Thornton." 
\ima,  cloth,  net  soc. 

The  popular  story  of  the  Conference — its  preparation— its 
nian.igement — its  cfltct  ami  furrcabl  of  its  inlliK-ncf  ou  the 
church  at  home  and  the  work  abroad.  An  official  publication 
in  no  way  conflicting  with  the  larger  work— which  it  rather 
supplements. 

HENRY  H.  JESSUP'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

Fifty-three  Years  in  Syria 

Introduction  by  James  S.  Dennis.    Two  volumes,  illustrated, 
8to,  cloth,  boxed,  net  $5.00. 

"A  rich  mine  of  information  for  the  liistori.m,  the  c'h- 
noloiflst  and  the  student  of  human  nature  apart  from  the 
labors  to  which  the  author  devoted  his  life.  A  thorouEhly  in- 
teresting book  that  will  yield  endless  pickings."— A^.  Y,  Sun, 

R05ERT  B.  SPEER 

Christianity  and  the  Nati<MU 

The  Dud  Lectures  for  1910. 
8vo,  cloth,  net  $2.00. 

Amorg  the  many  notable  volumes  that  have  resulted 
from  the  well  knov.  n  DufI  foundation  Lectureship  this  new 
work  embodying  the  series  given  by  Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer 
in  Edinburgh,  Clasgow  and  Aberdeen,  will  rank  among  the 
most  important.  The  peneral  theme,  "The  Reflex  Influence 
of  Missions  rp.^n  tiio  Nations,"  auggetts  a  large,  imponanlt 
and  most  interesting  work. 

6.   T.  R.  DAVIS 
15c  net 

An  effective  report  of  the  recent  revivals  in  Korea  told 
OB  eye  witness,  who  himself  participated  in  the  work. 


MISSIONS 


ROSER  T  McCllE  YNE  MA  TEER 

Character  Building  in  China 

The  Life  Story  of  Julia  Brown  Mateer.  With  In- 
troduction by  Robert  li.  Speer.  Illustrated,  net  $1.00. 

Robert  Fv.  Spctr  anys:  "Mr^.  Matrrr  heUmnfd  to  the  old 
beroic  bchciul  which  did  hard  lliins;s  withmit  inakiiiR  any  fuss, 
which  achieved  the  impossihle  Ixcausr  it  wa»  mic's  liuly  to 
achieve  it.  May  thia  itory  <>(  her  strong,  vigorous  life  be  the 
■ummona  to  many  young  women  in  our  coUegCB  and  Cborcb 
Xo-izy.— From  Ihr  IntroductioH, 

GEORGE  F.  HERRICK,  P.P. 

n/tf  Yuri  Mliilnuirf  it  tin  Amtrltm  B—ri  In  Turiit 

Christian  and  Mohammedan 

A  Plea  for  Bridging  the  Chasm.  Illustrated,  i2mo, 
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"Dr.  Herrick  has  glTea  hit  life  to  miitlonary  work 

amnng  the  \fohanimedans.  Thia  book  is  the  mature  expres- 
sion of  his  profound  belief  that  the  followers  of  the  Arabian 
I'rophet  are  to  be  won  to  Christianity  by  patiently  showing 
JiMis  riin-t,  witli  kindly  appreciation  of  the  pooil  whiii'  fully 
paiijriliK  the  deadly  evd  of  their  rrlininus  system.  Opinions 
fri.ni  leitdmg  nnssiijnarirs  to  Mohaniniedaiis.  in  all  parts  of 
the  world  have  been  brought  togtthcr  in  the  book. — Henry 
Otis  Dwight,  LL.D. 

EPWARD  C.  PERKINS,  M.  P. 

A  Glimpse  of  the  Heart  of  China 

Illustrated,  i6mo,  cloth,  net  60c. 

"A  simple,  clear  story  from  a  physician's  point  of  view 
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with  the  Comfort  and  healinp  that  follow  in  the  w.ake  of 
the  skillful  treatment  of  a  Christian  Chinese  'woman  doc- 
tor,' lias  in  it  many  elements  of  interest.  The  reader  of 
these  pages  feels  that  he  has  truly  had  a  'glimpse  of  the 
heart  of  China.' " — Mitsionary  Veict, 

ANSnCB  ABBOTT 

The  Stolen  Bridegroom  east  inp?"iuvlls 

W  ith  Introduction  by  George  Smith,  CLE.,  Au- 
or  of  '  Thf  Conversion  of  India."  Illustrated, 

i^nio,  cloth,  net  75c. 

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the    Zenana  The    Missionary    with    the    native  Hible- 

woman  is  seen  on  her  daily  round  of  love  and  mercy,  in 
the  home,  the  hospital  and  the  school,  winning  the  weary  HM 
de^Muring  women  and  widows."— C«0rg«  SwntK 


